


Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing

by ReadingForever



Series: The World After the End [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Gen, OC, ambiguous timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-15
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-01-08 20:36:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 49
Words: 227,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1137114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadingForever/pseuds/ReadingForever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some time after the happenings of the  School Life of Mutual Killing, sixteen graduates of Hope's Peak are called by the Future Foundation under the pretense of appointing them to help restore the world. Akane Ogata, ex-Super High School Level Chemist, along with other fifteen, are locked into an underground shelter, under the ruling of the loathed Monobear and the threat of eventually starving to death if they don't kill somebody and don't get caught. </p><p>The group tries to find anything that may point who exactly attracted them to the shelter and the reasons for it, while they try to avoid being killed by somebody else.</p><p>Currently: Extras: Author's Comments</p><p>SEQUEL ALREADY IN PROGRESS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue I: Committee for a Better Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome.
> 
> So, the purpose of this story: this is a concept that has been around my mind for the last two months or so. During this time I have been planning this story carefully, and I have everything planned, every single detail, so now it is time to write it! I'll complete it, no matter how long it takes, although it'll take a while, as I'm also writing a different story in another fandom.
> 
> This story happens after the events of Dangan Ronpa 1. Otherwise, nothing else is specified in the timeline.
> 
> Canon elements? Besides Monobear, the mention of Hope's Peak, and the elements this story has, in terms of the whole (ab)normal days-abnormal days-investigation-trial dichotomy, there are none, besides mentions to canon characters. Everybody else are original characters created for the purpose of being part of this story.
> 
> As it is expected, there are spoilers. I'm not going into detail with them, but they're pretty major ones.
> 
> Now that the presentation has been done, it is time to start. Feel free to review or comment anything.
> 
> Note that in the first paragraphs, some 'it' are referencing to the person exploring the ruins. It is pretty hard to keep it gender-neutral, eh?

The abandoned building of Hope's Peak. It wasn't long since that group of fifteen students got locked into a game of mutual killing. Enoshima was truly wretched, and the person exploring the academy doubted there would ever be somebody like her again. Oh, the explorer really loathed Enoshima, although it couldn't avoid being thankful for some of the consequences of her work.  
  
The world outside was truly a haven for the explorer. It had any liberties to do whatever it wanted, so not everything was bad.  
  
The explorer entered the elevator behind the red door. It was a new element, the explorer was sure it wasn't there during the time the explorer attended the academy.  
  
At the end of the descent, the explorer found some sort of round courtroom, with sixteen stands. It had several pictures of people the explorer had seen before in a file, but it had no idea about the names of those people. And it didn't care, either. They were dead.  
  
The explorer then saw something it hadn't expected to see. There was a strange teddy bear in middle of the circle formed by the stands, down on the floor. The explorer picked it up, and observed the finding. It recognized the bear instantly. The very same bear that filled the world out there with despair. The explorer fought the urge to destroy it, and went back to the elevator along with the bear.  
  
That person continued checking every room inside the building, looking for anything useful. There wasn't anything remarkable, until it found the controlling room. The explorer sat on the chair, and contemplated the computer terminal in front of it. It managed to turn the computer on, and soon learned that it was what controlled the bear. Just for fun, the explorer made the bear walk and say very bad puns. So that is how Enoshima controlled Monobear. It had to admit that the leader of SHSL was clever.  
  
Then a horrible idea crossed the explorer's mind. Maybe…just maybe…Monobear could be useful for the plans it had formed a while ago. Now that the explorer had found the mascot of the despair, it had a way to kickstart its own fun.  
  
The person turned off the controls and meditated, planning each phase of its ideas. It wasn't going to be hard to start everything, and once it was in motion, it would have no way to be stopped, not even for the person itself, but if it worked, it would bring great benefits for its mastermind.  
  
The explorer smirked. Why not? It was all or nothing.  
  
-ooooo-  
  
Among the remains of the most recent abandoned grocery store in the area, a lone figure searches between the boxes in the back. The woman crouches and pulls several food items, putting them inside a shopping cart she had taken from the front. Once she was satisfied with what she found, she decided to call it a day.  
  
She hated to feel like a vulture looking for carrion, but that is how things were in those days. The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident had changed everything, and now ransacking had turned into a way to live.  
  
Akane Ogata pushed her shopping cart outside, and cautiously looked around the street she was in. She wanted to avoid any confrontations with other survivors, or with any of those people who fell into despair. Those people with the bear masks. She still had bruises from her last encounter with them, she was lucky to have survived.  
  
How did things get like this? When she graduated from Hope's Peak four years ago, she had been promised she would have success in life. And it was true for those four years. A very famous pharmaceutical company had hired her, thanks to her ability as the Super High School Level Chemist. It was a very important job, and the salary was simply awesome. Being graduated from Hope's Peak really meant having the whole life solved.  
  
At least until everything turned into a whole mess, with humanity struggling to survive. Civilization came to an end, in most of the senses. The company she worked for managed to continue functioning for six months, and then it fell apart when its owner and most of the administrative board were murdered. Everybody in the company had to abandon the jobs, and the odds of finding another one were practically zero.  
  
Akane had a lot of money stored, but now money didn't mean as much as before. Besides, with the situation, it could be possible that being rich would turn her into a target for those who were desperate enough.  
  
How many times had she avoided death until now? She had lost count, and she had no idea how longer she would be able to resist.  
  
Soon she arrived to the apartment building she lived in. The building seemed like it would fall in any moment, but for her it was the best hideout there was. Akane pushed the cart through the main door, until she reached her apartment. Before she opened the door, she heard a voice behind her.  
  
-"Akane-chan? Are you home? Ah, yes. How did it go?"-  
  
A frail old lady welcomed here, from one of the other apartments. Akane smiled. –"It went pretty good. I found enough food for another week or so. Want some?"- she said, trying to give the old woman a jar of honey. The old woman took it, muttering how grateful she was.  
  
-"There is also something else for you, Akane-chan. It seems to be a letter"- she said, passing the ex-chemist a letter. Akane took it, and after some small talk more, she entered her apartment with her shopping cart.  
  
Akane sat on her old couch, and opened the letter. It had a highly striking logo on top. -"Future Foundation"- she read aloud. She had vaguely heard about that foundation before. They were supposedly a group of people working to stop The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident. Why would they send her a letter?  
  
 _Mistress Akane Ogata, Super High School Level Chemist._  
  
 _You have been selected to be part of an important project called 'Renovation'. You'll be gathered along with other Hope's Peak graduates, and along with us, the Future Foundation, we'll set the world straight once again._  
  
 _If you choose to collaborate with us, you may meet us on Tuesday, April 20th, on the Downtown Subway Station. You'll find a door marked with our logo. That is the door to our underground shelter, especially tailored to meet any necessities you and your partners will have._  
  
 _If you choose not to collaborate with us, you may continue with your daily life._  
  
 _Thank you for your attention._  
  
 _Masamune Toyotomi, Committee for a Better Tomorrow, Future Foundation_.  
  
To say Akane was surprised was an understatement. She had been summoned by the Future Foundation! And they also had information from her, as well. They knew where she lived, who she was, and who knows what else.  
  
The letter made her uncomfortable. The meeting was supposed to be the next day. It was in an underground shelter, in a subway station. It was sketchy and weird beyond all thought, why would she choose to accept? With a dismissive gesture, she threw the letter on the floor.  
  
But the thought that she could help to change the world back stayed in her mind. She could return things to normality. No more having to search for food in abandoned stores. No more avoiding people on the streets. No more fear of waking up to see a maniac to her side, holding a knife to her throat, to steal everything she owned. No more despair.  
  
The next day, she found herself staring down the dark entrance of the subway station. Akane took the flashlight she borrowed from that old lady, and started descending. It was abandoned, as expected. Graffitis filled the walls, most of them having that damned bear scribbled. She was already starting to dread coming there. Where was that door?  
  
Ah, there it was. Indeed, it had the Future Foundation logo engraved in there. She opened it for a bit, and peeked through the hole. It was dark inside. Akane entered the room, and shone the flashlight around.  
  
The dizzy feeling came in that moment. It felt as if she had been chloroformed.  
  
" _I shouldn't have come in here_ " was her last thought before vanishing.  
  
-ooooo-  
  
Akane rubbed her eyes, before waking up. She opened them.  
  
She was in some kind of bedroom. She looked around, scared yet intrigued. The room was the last thing she had expected to see. It was a perfect imitation of what had been her room in Hope's Peak. It even had a few lab coats. It had been a long time since she had used one. Akane took one. She remembered her times as a high school student, in Hope's Peak...  


[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Akane-Ogata.jpg.html)

She gasped. How the hell had she gotten in there? Hope's Peak had been destroyed, hadn't it? That was the rumor. Then how was she in the room?

Akane stood, and walked to one of the two doors. She tried to open it, but it didn't work. There was an odd contraption on the side, attached to the wall. It seemed made to insert some kind of really thin object. She turned her attention to the other door. It opened easily. There was a hall. From her position, she could hear voices coming from some location at the end of the hallway.

She walked towards there, anxious to see somebody. While she walked, she noticed several differences that pointed her that she definitely wasn't in Hope's Peak. She remembered that at the end of the bedroom hallway, there was a gate to the cafeteria, another to the public bath, one door to the storage, and the gate that led to the school section of the building. In the place she was in, there was only one gate. But the voices didn't come from behind it. They came from what would have led to the school.

Akane entered what was at the end of the tunnel. It was some kind of meeting room, and there were other fifteen people already in there. Several were already talking, as if they weren't in big trouble.

The Chemist walked to the front row, doubting what she should say. She waited until somebody noticed her.

-"Here is the last person! About time!"- a young woman with a red leather coat shouted aloud, making everybody look at Akane. The Chemist recoiled, due to the sudden surge of attention.

-"I counted sixteen bedrooms, so now we're all finally together"- another one, with a highly decorated robe, remarked.

-"What's going on?"- Akane asked, trying to look as calm as possible. She didn't want to seem all panicky.

-"I heard the voices here, and followed them. We're meeting each other. We're going to change the world, so we may as well get along!"- a third woman, with sunglasses, said. That sparked something in Akane's memory. The letter. She had been called into an underground shelter, but as much as she tried, she couldn't remember who had called her in there.

-"So this is the shelter. Who had called us here? I don't remember"- Akane asked. A very robust man had approached, bringing other people with him.

-"That is the funny thing. I don't remember, but that may be because I have pretty bad memory"-

-"I can't remember either, nor I can find the letter itself"- another young guy commented, then looking at somebody who was identical to him –"Yukio, where did you leave the letters?"- His twin shrugged.

-"I can't be the only one who finds that pretty worrisome"- the young lady with the square glasses said, looking pensive.

-"Well, until we find sense in that, why don't we greet the new teammate?"- the robust one said with a carefree tone –"Let me start. Nice to meet you! I'm Saburou Hikasa. I was known as Super High School Level Weightlifter"- he extended a hand. Akane's own hand ached, after the greeting. –"Go ahead, talk with others"- The Chemist nodded, and couldn't avoid remembering hearing about Hikasa.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Saburou-Hikasa-1.jpg.html)

  
_Saburou Hikasa, SHSL Weightlifter, 30 years old. The Hercules of Japan. Despite his age when he was in school, he was said to have upper body strength matching those in the Olympic team_.

-"Besides, it can't be bad for us to be here, right? We were called to save the world"- Hikasa said.

Akane was more skeptical. -"I'd be more calmed if I could remember who called us here"-

-"Don't worry, we'll meet him or her shortly. The podium is set, see?"- Hikasa pointed at the podium. Akane couldn't avoid thinking there was something odd about it. -"Now go and meet the rest. Forget about the letter"- and with those words, Hikasa sat.

_How can you be so calmed?_

Everybody else had sit down, still talking with each other. Akane decided to start meeting them in the order they were sitting.

The closest graduate to her was a young man with glasses, talking animatedly with one of the twins. Akane interrupted softly.

-"Ah! Nice to meet you. I'm Kaiji Kudo"- he greeted with great enthusiasm.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Kaiji-Kudo-1.jpg.html)

  
_Kaiji Kudo, SHSL Philanthropist, 29 years old. A very considerate man who grew in a rough neighborhood, who selflessly took care of the well-being of his whole neighborhood, especially in times of great peril_.

-"Don't worry, Ogata-kun. Everything will be okay, I'm sure of it"-. It was as if Kudo had felt her inner worry about her situation. She felt somewhat comforted by his words, even if they were vague.

-"H-How nice of you"-

-'It's just being polite. Nothing too remarkable"-

-"Politeness isn't mankind's main trait right now"- Akane muttered. Kudo laughed, as if Akane hadn't said the ugly truth.

-"I was always told to help others. Being kind can be a good help at times. If you ever need something, just come to me. I'll gladly listen to any problems you have."-

 _At least he seems reliable_.

It was now the twins' turn. Both stood at the same time. They were identical, down to the way they dressed. The only difference she could notice were those thin ribbons on their necks. The one with the red ribbon talked first. –"Greetings. My name is Reiji Ohmoto, the widely renowned Super High School Level Law Master"- he introduced himself pompously. Akane couldn't avoid feeling annoyance at him. Reiji signaled his brother. As if in cue, the twin with the green ribbon, talked.

-"O-O-Oh. I'm Yukio. I'm his assistant"-

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Reiji-and-Yukio-Ohmoto-1.jpg.html)

  
_The Ohmoto twins…Reiji Ohmoto, SHSL Law Master. It was said he could work by himself with almost any case, in any court, but he is never alone. Yukio Ohmoto is the SHSL Law Assistant. A timid young man who helps him with everything. The malicious rumors used to say that Reiji couldn't even dress himself without Yukio's help. That is an exaggeration, right?_

 _Both are 25 years old_.

-"It must be nice to be here with your brother"- Akane said, trying to break the ice.

-"It's fine. I'd rather to be out of here, though. The problems of the world aren't really my concern"- Reiji said, coldly.

-"If the world doesn't stop being so despairing, then there won't be any work for you"- Yukio whispered. Reiji looked as if he had been revealed the secrets of the universe.

-"Oh...then I'll do my best. I'm tired of living in that gas station"-

Akane smiled, uncomfortable. _Tell me that the first impression won't last forever_

Reiji continued talking with Kudo. Yukio sighed. -"Sorry for his behavior. He can be a real pain in the ass at times"- he whispered before sitting back to listen.

 _The other twin doesn't seem to be a bad person. By the look of things, it looks like the rumors are true to an extent_.

The twins sat down, and Reiji continued talking to Kudo. Yukio just stared forward.

Next to them was…a teenager. Akane wasn't expecting to see such a young person in the shelter. He was trying to listen to Reiji and Kudo.-"Uuuuh…excuse me? Hello?"- Akane tried to get him to pay attention to her. The teenager looked up.

-"What?"-

Akane stayed silent. The teenager seemed to catch up. –"Ah, yes. I'm Masaru Miyata. Is that all? I'm trying to join the conversation"- then he continued with what he was doing.

_Seems more like snooping to me._

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Masaru-Miyata-1.jpg.html)

  
_Masaru Miyata, SHSL CEO. 17 years old. A teenager with great influence, who reached High School at an early age. During a summer, he created a temporal company of bike painting in his garage, as some sort of project, but he managed to make it so successful that it turned into an official company, giving job to a at least a dozen people, and expanding it to car and buses painting and repairing. All because of his remarkable administrative abilities and his outstanding marketing plans_.

-"You're still here"- the CEO was exasperated.

-"It was just a minute of your time! There was no need to be rude"-

-"There was also no need for a presentation. I already know who you are, and it'd be outrageous if you didn't know who I am"- and with those words, he ignored anything else Akane tried to say. The Chemist was getting frustrated.

_Who the hell does he think he is?_

Once it was clear he wouldn't talk to her again, she stepped forward to the next seat, but she hadn't noticed that a person had walked to her. They collided. Akane stumbled back. –"I'm really sorry!"- she apologized hurriedly.

The woman in the military uniform groaned. –"It is okay. I just came to say hi. I'm Tomoe Chiba, SHSL Strategist"-

Once Akane had made sure that Chiba was okay, the Strategist took a militar stance. She was smiling, as if she had accomplished something.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Tomoe-Chiba-1.jpg.html)

  
_Tomoe Chiba, SHSL Strategist, 28 years old. A very analytical woman. It is unknown how she managed to make her abilities known, but she has helped the military and the police several times, triumphing each time. It was expected from her to be the next Chief of Police, at least until the whole…end of civilization thing happened_.

-"Listen, I think that after whatever presentation there is soon, we should all reunite at the cafeteria, at the very least to discuss what we all can do to help the world, keeping in mind whatever we'll be told. Are you fine with it?"-

-"Sure"- Akane replied. Chiba grinned.

-"Good, soldier. You may be dismissed"- and then Chiba went to talk to Miyata.

_I sense some very serious leader vibes from her. Having a SHSL Strategist as leader of the team actually sounds like a good idea_

Akane now turned to the person she was going to greet before Chiba had interrupted her path. The person in front of the Chemist was clearly a foreigner. For a moment Akane wondered if he could speak Japanese, but the foreigner started the conversation.

-"Hi there! I'm Ian Curtis"-

Akane introduced herself, but she felt uncomfortable. Mainly because she had never heard of Ian Curtis before. It is possible it was because he came from a different country. –"What's your talent, Curtis-san?"-

-"Ah? I'm a painter. Not very impressive, eh?"- Curtis seemed almost embarrassed.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Ian-Curtis-1.jpg.html)

  
_Ian Curtis…SHSL Painter. I don't know anything else about him. Seems to be 29 years old_.

-"Why have I never heard of you before?"- Akane asked.

Curtis shrugged. -"I arrived to the country a week ago"-

-"That doesn't answer anything. But you did graduate from Hope's Peak, didn't you?"-

-"Of course I did"-

-"Then why is this the first time I see your name related to Hope's Peak?"-

-"They're not really proud of me. My grades were really mediocre, you know"- Curtis was blushing, due to the embarrassment.

_That sounds plausible. It was a school for the elite, after all. A bad student would make it look bad_

Curtis sat, mumbling something about bad memories. Akane decided to leave him alone, after she unintentionally made him feel bad.

The lady with the square glasses and chopsticks in her hair was next. She was immersed in a book, and Akane needed several attempts before she looked up.

-"Hello. I'm Chihiro Toriumi"- she said, uninterested, and continued reading, but Akane wasn't going to go away yet.

-"Toriumi-san! Don't you remember me?"-Akane said, somewhat hurt. Toriumi again looked at Akane. -"Ogata, the Chemist, remember?"-

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Chihiro-Toriumi-1.jpg.html)

  
_Chihiro Toriumi, SHSL Private Tutor. Now 24 years old. A gifted girl, academically. She was said to be able to dispel any doubts one had about anything. Even if she originally didn't know about the topic, a glance to some information would be enough to orientate her_.

Toriumi took off her glasses, with a more human expression on her face. -"The one who knew jackshit about literature?"-

-"That wasn't how I expected you to remember me..."-Akane was hurt by Toriumi's words. The Tutor smiled warmly.

-"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's great to see somebody familiar here. We'll make a great team"-

After some short talk more, Akane went to talk to the next one, feeling better. A familiar face, even if it is Toriumi, was enough to make her feel like she fit in the group.

The man was almost asleep. Akane hesitated if she should wake him up, when he yawned and opened his eyes.

-"Aaaaah...yes?"- he stammered.

-"Hi! I'm Akane Ogata, SHSL Chemist"-

-"Nice! The name is Takeshi Toyogushi, the stunts are my business"- he extended his hand.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Takeshi-Toyogushi-1.jpg.html)

  
_Takeshi Toyogushi, SHSL Stuntsman. 31 years old. In the time the world wasn't a despair mess, this man was world famous due to his daring stunts, especially when it involved his motorcycle_.

Toyogushi yawned again. -"Sorry. I get sleepy when I'm not moving. Physical activity is my turf, after all"-

-"There will be time for sleeping later"-

-"I know. But that thing..."- he pointed at the podium -"...better start soon. If I don't sleep, I become all fidgety. How longer will I last..."-

_He seems okay. At least he may be useful later_

Akane didn't even move from where she was standing, when another of her new teammates approached.

-"Hello! May you give me a minute of your time?"-

Akane smiled politely, and waited for what she expected would be a quick presentation. Instead, the guy started a long spiel about several products she could be interested in, and saying she should go to his room to check them. The Chemist didn't resist anymore.

-"Cut that out!"-

The guy stopped, and rubbed his hands sheepily. -"Sorry ma'am. I got carried away. Selling stuff was my way to live, you know. Hoshio Saitou, at your service"-

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Hoshio-Saitou-1.jpg.html)

  
_Hoshio Saitou, SHSL Salesman. 24 years old. There was a saying about him: 'If you have a hard time selling anything, give it to Saitou and he'll do it for you. Guaranteed'. Novelty stores really adored the Salesman's abilities_.

-"It's nice to meet somebody who is obviously a very talented person"- Saitou now was shamelessly complimenting Akane. She managed to get away of him saying she needed to meet the rest

 _God, I hope that he doesn't continue the asskissing. Are those his selling techniques?_ Still, she had to admit that a couple products he had mentioned were lingering in her mind.

The next person in line was busy playing with a handheld console. -"Hey, dear. I'm Masashi Sakurai. What's your talent?"-

-"I'm a Chemist!"- Akane replied, proudly. Sakurai nodded.

-"Nice! I got into Hope's Peak due to sheer luck, so there is nothing else to say about me"-

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Masashi-Sakurai-1.jpg.html)

  
A _h! A SHSL Good Luck! 23 years old. There isn't a lot to say about him_.

-"But you got called to change the world! That shows you do have something to offer"- Akane said, trying to make him open up. Sakurai sighed theatrically.

-"We'll see"-

_It is a bit odd that a SHSL Good Luck got summoned here. Maybe whoever sent the letters saw something special in him_

The next in the group was the lady with the overly-decorated robe. She had some sort of mystical aura around her.

-"Hi, I'm Akane Ogata"-

-"Aya Sawashiro, the Medium from Osaka"- she looked at Akane's hairline. Later Akane would notice that Sawashiro never looked at anybody else to the eyes.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Aya-Sawashiro-1.jpg.html)

  
_Aya Sawashiro, SHSL Medium. 24 years old. It is said she has the ability to summon the dead, and communicate with what is beyond. A lot of people has paid her to contact their defunct loved ones, and it is said she has provided peace to the living and the dead_.

-"I suppose that you, as a science woman, don't believe in ghosts"- Sawashiro remarked.

-"I do believe in them, but how did you know I'm into the science field?"-

-"The dead told me"- Sawashiro said grimly, but few seconds later she started laughing. -"Hahahaha, I'm kidding! I heard you telling others that you were a chemist. Besides, the lab coat is practically a neon sign about your affiliation"-

Ah, true. She was still wearing that. Akane laughed too, and left Sawashiro there.

_She isn't the overly mystical person I imagined she would be. It should be nice to work with her_

The last male person Akane hadn't met yet was sitting just behind Sawashiro. He tipped his hat towards the Chemist, as a greeting.

-"I'm Mishio Matsukaze. Have you heard about me?"-

Akane indeed had heard about Matsukaze.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Mishio-Matsukaze-1.jpg.html)

  
_Mishio Matsukaze, SHSL Detective. 30 years old. A man who is said to have the greatest investigative mind of the century. Very few have seen him working, but it is said he can solve any mystery, no matter how complicated it is_.

-"It is nice to meet you, lady. If you ever need anything, then don't hesitate to contact me"- Matsukaze offered. Akane now had two people to talk with if there were something troubling her. She replied how grateful she was. Matsukaze once again tipped his hat, this time as a farewell.

 _Don't swoon, Akane. You're in public_.

There were only two more graduates left. The next one was the first woman who talked to Akane, the one with the red leather coat.

-"Look who finally came to greet me! Leaving me for almost last…some gall you have!"- she said, in a playful tone. Akane hoped that she wasn't mad.

-"I'm Akane Ogata"-

-"Mika Yamaguchi. I'm a fashion designer, don't ever forget that"- she said, winking.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Mika-Yamaguchi-1.jpg.html)

  
_Mika Yamaguchi, SHSL Fashion Designer. 23 years old. She was said to be Junko Enoshima's student, despite having graduated much before her, giving her mentor all her creations. And now, after it was revealed that Enoshima was the one behind The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident …I can only hope Yamaguchi won't follow her steps in that, as well_.

-"Is there something wrong, Ogata-kun?"- Yamaguchi asked, tilting her head. Akane assured her that it was nothing. Yamaguchi didn't seem convinced.

-"You know, I like you! Maybe we could be friends" – Yamaguchi left behind Akane's behavior, and continued. The Chemist felt flattered to hear such a straightforward statement. She stammered a 'sure', and left Yamaguchi.

The last teammate was the woman with the sunglasses. She had been looking at Akane, as if she were judging how good of a person she would be.

-"Nice to meet you, miss Ogata. I'm Ginchiyo. No last name, just Ginchiyo. I'm a film maker-

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Ginchiyo-1.jpg.html)

  
_The Legendary Ginchiyo, SHSL Film Maker. 30 years old. She is said to have created the most critically acclaimed short movie made by anybody in Japan, EVER, The Flight of the Red Crane. She went into history as the best student that ever studied in Hope's Peak_.

-"It is such a honor to meet you!"- Akane said with a lot of enthusiasm. Ginchiyo put her sunglasses on her forehead and smiled.

-"You're not going to cut a strand of my hair while I sleep so you can brag about meeting me, will you?"-

Akane almost choked. It was a ridiculous question. -"What? No!"-

-"Then we'll get along just fine. See you! And, for the record: it has happened to me before"- and with those words, she walked to the other side of the room.

_I can't wait to meet her better!_

Akane had now met the rest of the people in the room. They were a relatively interesting bunch. She liked some, and disliked others, but at the end, they still were part of the team. The Chemist went to the front and sat down. The only thing left was to wait for whoever called them to make some sort of speech. Some people were getting impatient, though.

-"How much longer will this take? I have been here for an hour!"- Curtis groaned.

-"Maybe he or she forgot about us"- Matsukaze said. His words caused more groans and complaints. -"Coming here was a waste of time. I'm going out of here"- the Detective stood, and walked towards the exit of the room.

-"D-D-D-Do you even know how to get out of the underground shelter?"- Yukio asked. Matsukaze stopped instantly.

-"We should wait a bit longer. This is our chance of a lifetime. Let's not waste it until we're sure it is useless"- Kudo said, putting a hand on Matsukaze's shoulder. The Detective sighed, but returned to his seat.

-"It better not take much longer"- Akane mumbled. Several others agreed with her, but the patience in the group didn't last much longer. Five minutes later, Ginchiyo was arguing as to why everybody should leave, while Chiba supported staying. The Film Maker was about to push Chiba aside, when a new voice reverberated in the room.

-"Why are you all in a hurry? It isn't like anybody outside is waiting for you!"- The voice said, clearly trying to taunt several of the teammates. Everybody looked around, looking for whoever had said that. Then Sawashiro saw him. -"Over there!"- She pointed at the podium. It wasn't empty anymore. There was now a bear that everybody in the room knew too well. They had avoided its corrupting influence, but now there was no way to avoid it. The doors of the conference room closed, leaving everybody trapped.

_No...not him...no, please, don't let it be Monobear!_


	2. Prologue II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The truth is that I feel somewhat nervous about writing Monobear's lines. I feel I don't dominate enough his personality. Eh.

Monobear observed the graduates. Most were looking at him, horrified, while Sawashiro tried to open the doors. The tension in the ambient was filled with disbelief.

The bear continued talking. -"Did I arrive late? Time sure flies when one is having fun! I was so focused scheming and observing all of you, that I almost forgot it is my duty as Hope's Peak's Headmaster to make a cheesy inspirational speech for all of you!"-

-"Scheming? Headmaster? Inspiration?"- Yukio mumbled, confused.

-"Explain yourself now, you fiend!"- Sawashiro left the doors, and walked stomping until she was on the front row.

-"Don't rush the main event. First get used to my presence, because you'll be seeing it until the end of your lives...literally!"- the bear laughed, enjoying everybody's expressions.

-"Literally? What do you mean?"- Curtis gasped.

-"It means exactly what I said. Most of you will die in this bunker, with me as your company. Not a bad company, if you ask me! After all, that is what I was made for"-

-"You...you will kill us?!"- Sakurai was very pale.

-"I won't. What sense would the Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing have if I killed you all right here? It would be boring! Despairingly boring, no emotion at all!"-Monobear shouted.

-"He said...Mutual Killing?"- Reiji whispered to Yukio, who simply nodded. Reiji bit his fist.

-"You don't mean that this will be a repeat of what happened in Hope's Peak a while ago, right?"- Toyogushi asked, even if he already had a feeling of what the answer would be. Akane had heard about the incident too. It had been transmitted via TV, after all.

-"You bastards should all know what it means, but I'll give a short explanation, for the sake of those who are slower than the rest:

If you want to get out of this bunker, then kill somebody without getting caught! That is the core of the experience. After that..."-

-"Do you think that we'll kill each other just because you said we should? Are you delusional?"- Akane shouted, and once again people agreed with her.

-"We're not going to fall for the same tricks you used on the other group. We're older and more mature"- Chiba said smugly.

-"I have a few aces up my sleeve, Chiba-kun. But since you insist to make me crush your hopes faster, then I'll oblige. I'm a very considerate bear, after all!

The reason you all will want to get out is simple: there is a timebomb in this very same conference room!"-

Panic spread tbrough the graduates. -"A bomb?!"- Ginchiyo shrieked before her voice was drowned by other people's fears. Monobear watched the panic, filled with glee.

-"Upupupu, I think I worded it wrong. My bad! I meant to say that there are sixteen timebombs: your own bodies"-

The panic was replaced by confusion. -"Is he saying there are bombs inside us?"- Yamaguchi feigned calmness, but she started to inspect her body.

-"Do you all have to take everything so literal? I mean that there is food in this bunker, but it'll last for around two weeks, if it is for all of you. After you run out of food, starving will be the only option. Either that or cannibalism. This is a bear-eats-bear world, after all!"-

Just as Monobear expected, it did crush most of the hope the Graduates had. They were now realizing the seriousness of the situation.

-"If you're going to cause trouble, then I don't see why we shouldn't get rid of you"- Miyata said sourly, while Hikasa approached the bear menacingly, cracking his knuckles. Monobear wasn't fazed by the threats.

-"The rules for the Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing says why you can't. Read and obey them. Troublemakers won't be forgiven"- Monobear bared his claws, and pointed to a table near to him. Now there was a pile of thin tablets, around the size of a card. Chiba approached them warily, as if expecting them to explode anytime. She grabbed all of them, and gave each one to their owners. Once she had hers in her hands, Akane checked the rules.

_Please, let this be just a test of whoever gathered us here..._ Akane thought, but the rules made it clear that the reality was harsher than she thought it was.

-"Those will be your IDs. Don't lose them. Now that is all there was needed to be announced. Kill, get away of it, and you'll be granted freedom. Enjoy your Graduates Meeting, bastards!"- Monobear disappeared into the podium, and the doors of the conference room opened with a click. Everybody was stunned, but Chiba didn't let anybody leave the place.

-"We need to organize ourselves. First than all: if you see anybody trying to kill, or sense any nefarious planning, don't be afraid to use brute force to restrain the offender. Our lives are in stake, and this shelter is our battlefield.

Now, let's make teams to explore this place. At the end of the bedroom hall, there are some stairs going downwards, meaning there is more to see. We'll all gather in the cafeteria in one hour, to inform of our findings"-

Chiba started to divide the people in teams, and assigned them areas to check. Akane was paired with Saitou and Miyata, and they were ordered to check the bedrooms.

Akane was determined to find something useful, and Miyata expressed the same intention. He wasn't so rude towards Akane now, perhaps because he understood how bad the situation was, or because he was afraid that being mean would get him killed. Saitou was a nervous wreck, babbling about food and starving.

-"Are textiles edible? I think they are...I'll eat my clothes after we run out of food"- Saitou said.

-"That is, if you're still alive at that point"- Miyata snickered. Saitou didn't take well Miyata's words, and started to weep.

-"Please, Miyata-kun, protect me! You seem strong enough for that, and very smart as well!"- Saitou pleaded, throwing himself at the CEO. Miyata staggered back in disgust.

-"Of all people, we had to be paired with this coward. At least you have some spine, Ogata"- Miyata complimented. They finally reached the bedroom halls.

-Let's check my room first"- Akane proposed, and tried to open the door, but she was unable to. She rattled the door.

-"I think you need to put your ID here"- Miyata said, pointing to the contraption on the wall. Akane inserted her ID, and the door unlocked softly.

The room was small, only with the most indispensable stuff. A bed, which Saitou said was comfortable, a closet, which Miyata examined and found nothing worthwhile (I expected secret compartments, he explained), and a desk, which Akane investigated, only finding dust.

-"If I'm not mistaken, this is the bathroom"- Miyata said, looking at the second door -"Why does one need to use the ID to enter here, though?"- Akane didn't reply, she just used her ID to unlock the bathroom. They both entered, with Saitou tagging along.

The bathroom was normal. A toilet, a sink, a trash bin and a shower. The only unusual element was a door at the opposite wall of the one Akane had unlocked. Saitou tried to open it, without success. -"Do you think this could lead to an exit?"-

-"The map says that this door leads to the painter's bedroom"- Miyata was checking his own ID. Akane checked her maps as well. The CEO was right, the room at the other side belonged to Curtis.

-"Every two bedrooms has a shared bathroom"- Akane informed.

After leaving Akane's bedroom, they went to check Miyata and Saitou's bedrooms. There was nothing to note in them, although Miyata was convinced that he needed to check further the shared bathrooms.

Soon the hour passed, and the trio went to the cafeteria to report their findings. Most teams were already waiting there. Once Ginchiyo, Yamaguchi and Hikasa entered, the reports started.

-"My team checked the cafeteria and the kitchen. We found a fridge and a pantry, and the prospects are grim, we'll run out of food someday. There is also a locked room, which I suppose is a storage"- Chiba said.

-"The bedrooms are nice"- Miyata was next to inform -"The bathrooms are shared, though, but one needs the ID to enter them. Also, if you see that guy chewing on his underwear, take that as your cue to lock him in the pantry"- he pointed at Saitou.

-"We found a laundry room, along with a trash room. The washing machines work perfectly, the trash compactor does as well. There was also this stairway, but it is blocked with shutters"- Yukio notified.

-"There is some sort of lounge, full of couches, but nothing remarkable in it. There is a cool fountain, though!"- Kudo said.

Now the last team piped up. -"We found...a strange door. It is metallic and industrial, the type of door I think would cover the exit of this hell bunker"- Hikasa said. The possibility of the exit being so close made some propose they try to force it open. Hikasa hit the table with his fist. -"We spend a whole hour trying to open it. It is impossible unless we find, like, explosives or something like that"-

-"I think there is something we can deduce from all of this: building a shelter like this needs a lot of time. Only a person or a group with enough power and influence could do something like this"- Yukio noted.

-"People with influence, in a time like this? It can only be Enoshima's group. We fell in the claws of SHSL Despair"- Toriumi said grimly. There was silence for a while.

-"Monobear's presence confirms it"- Sakurai muttered, pointing what was obvious for most. -"Damn it, I would love Monobear if it weren't for what he represents. He is cool, in a sense"-

-"I have been thinking...could it be that one of us is responsible for all of this?"- Matsukaze mused. Judging from the expressions the other people had, the thought had never crossed their minds. Matsukaze continued -"I have noticed something odd: there are no cameras anywhere, which means that we're not being observed. However, the person who controls Monobear knew exactly where we were. That damned puppet mocked us while we were investigating"-

-"He appeared in front of us, as well!"- Sawashiro exclaimed. The Detective nodded.

-"Yes. Monobear has some way to know where we are. I'm leaning to think that the bear has some sort of AI, but it can't be far from its controller, in case any changes to its programming is needed. Nobody from outside can come and do that, we're sealed and underground. Not even waves or similar should be able to enter"-

-"So you mean that for all I know, you..."- Ginchiyo pointed at the Detective -"...or her..."- she pointed at Toriumi -"...or him..."- pointed at Saitou -"...could be the one who locked us here?"-

-"Exactly. You never know"-

-"I'll wring the Mastermind's neck, once I find who is responsible of this"- Hikasa growled.

-"We won't get anywhere with threats. Let's call it a day, people. Try to find clues towards the Mastermind's identity. You're all dismissed, soldiers"- Chiba finished the meeting.

Everybody started to leave the cafeteria. Akane went to her room and laid on her bed. One of the fifteen people she had met was the one who trapped her in an underground shelter. Not only that, but she also had a death threat over her head. Whether it was by starving or...being killed by somebody else.


	3. Chapter 1: It's Like Losing a Limb to Despair (Ab)normal Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RE: AnimesWorld
> 
> I have planned to draw their pictures, but chances are that it won't be in a good while. They are sixteen pictures, after all.
> 
> \-----  
> Free time!

The next day, Akane opened her eyes. She had dreamed she was free, in a world where there were no monochrome bears, or anything related to despair. How beautiful it was.  
  
She looked at her clock. It was 10:00 AM. She bolted out of bed, alarmed of how late it was. She put her labcoat on, and rushed to the cafeteria. Hopefully there was still some food. Akane entered, and went straight to the kitchen. Hisaka, the Weightlifter, was there. -"Good morning, Ogata-kun"- he greeted. She greeted back, and started to look around for her breakfast. -"You won't find anything left. That military chick made rations for everybody. Yours should be inside the oven"-  
  
Akane opened the oven, and found food packed with tin foil. Moments later she was eating in the cafeteria, with Hikasa near. -"You missed our breakfast meeting"-  
  
Akane scratched her head, sheepishly. -"I thought I'd be awoken by some sort of morning announcement or something"-  
  
-"Who am I, your mother?"-  
  
Akane turned around, startled. Monobear was standing behind her. Hikasa facepalmed. Monobear continued: "You're an adult! If you don't start getting your life straight, you'll never get anywhere. I have heard not being trapped in a bunker is a great first step, upupupu"-  
  
-Go away, jerk"- Akane had regained the composure. Monobear pretended to be hurt. -"And I was just trying to be friendly. Nobody appreciates the effort I do to make this an orderly massacre"-  
  
-"I said 'go away'"-  
  
-"Okay, fussypits"-  
  
Monobear left the cafeteria, while Akane groaned. -"He has been bothering everybody. When will he understand that we won't kill?"-  
  
Akane was more pessimistic. -"But we'll still run out of food unless we escape..."- Hikasa rolled his eyes.  
  
-"Don't make a scene, please. I had enough when that Salesman started shouting about how small the rations were"-  
  
Akane smiled. She herself had seen how Saitou could be. His personality was annoying, but she couldn't really blame him, in this situation. Maybe outside he was different.  
  
Now that she thought about it, all her classmates most likely had interesting traits to share with her...meeting them further could be a good idea, at least to know who she was dealing with.  
  
-"I'll go talk with some people, Hikasa-san. Thank you for the breakfast"- Hikasa just waved, and took the dishes to the kitchen.  
  
 _I'll start with whoever I see first. It is exciting! Come on, let it be somebody good_!  
  
Akane also took this as a chance to explore the places she hadn't checked yet. _Kudo said there is a lounge, right? That should be a good place to star_ t  
  
The Lounge only had one person in it. Michio Matsukaze was writing something on a notebook. He seemed to be deeply concentrated. For a moment Akane doubted if she should interrupt him, but he had already sensed her presence. -"Ah, hi. You're Ogata-kun, aren't you?"-  
  
The Chemist sat in the couch in front of Matsukaze. -"Yes, that is me. Sorry, just thought it would be good to meet each other better"- The Detective made some sort of noise, as if he had said 'Aha, I see', but didn't say anything. Akane grinned awkwardly. -"So! Tell me, did you enjoy studying in Hope's Peak?"-  
  
-"It was okay, although those scientists were annoying with all that investigating stuff they did on me"- Matsukaze replied without stopping what he was doing. Now he was drawing a map of the shelter.  
  
-"Is it hard to be a detective?"-  
  
-"It is fine, as long as one has certain abilities"- he wrote a few notes on the sides. Akane waited, but Matsukaze didn't say anything else, nor made further attempts to continue the conversation. This 'being friendly' business wasn't going as good as Akane thought it would go.  
  
-"You know that there is a map in your ID, right? You don't have to draw one yourself"-  
  
-"Can you stop being a burden? Thanks"- he said, with obvious annoyance. Akane was taken aback. Matsukaze must have felt something, because he sighed and closed his notebook. -"I'm sorry, Ogata-kun. I didn't mean to be rude"-  
  
-"You...you are stressed due to being trapped, right?"-  
  
Matsukaze took off his hat. -"It isn't just that. I'm also investigating to catch the Mastermind. This may be the greatest case of my career, since it not only has my own life in stake. It also has fourteen more"-  
  
-"You mean fifteen"-  
  
-"No, fourteen. Once I find the fucker that locked us here, I'm making sure that person never gets out alive"-  
  
Akane was surprised to hear the determination in his voice. He may as well be the one who would do absolutely anything to find the truth. -"Any progress?"- she asked.  
  
-"I already have some leads. I'm not telling you anything else, though. You're not in the clear. But I can say this with confidence: I'll find the one responsible for everything in max...seven days. The Mastermind may think he or she is smart, but even the smallest trace can lead to a conclusion"-  
  
-"It would be nice if you socialized, though"- Akane whispered-  
  
Matsukaze put his hat on again. -"I won't be in mood to socialize until I'm out of this hellhole. But after that, I promise we'll talk anything you want, turn into friends, etc"- he smiled -"Now, I think this is a good chance for me to ask you a few questions. Answer them truthfully, please"-  
  
 _I spent the next hour being questioned by Matsukaze, for his investigation_  
  
-ooooo-  
  
After Matsukaze decided he had enough information about Akane, the Chemist decided it was time to talk with somebody else.  
  
Akane went for lunch to the cafeteria. There she found Hikasa again, as if he hadn't left the cafeteria in the first place. The Weightlifter was kind enough to bring Akane's lunch ration, which Chiba had prepared before.  
  
-"So, how did your morning go? Were you able to talk with anybody?"-  
  
Akane swallowed her mouthful of food, and replied. -"I did talk with the Detective, but it didn't go as I expected. It was like being interrogated by the Interpol"-  
  
Hikasa laughed. -"That is how it is. He is more of a brain type, while others, like me, are more of the brawn type"-  
  
-"And what did you do while I was away?"-  
  
-"Matsukaze asked me to check if I could break the shutters that block that other stairway. The only thing I accomplished was pulling a muscle"- Akane just noticed that he was pressing a rag with ice on his arm.  
  
-"Oh...I hope you're not in pain..."-  
  
-"Not anymore. But still, this depressed me'- he said. Akane raised her eyebrows, and asked why. Hikasa threw the rag on the table.  
  
-"People are wanting me to do stuff because of my strength, but I have failed. I didn't even dent the exit of this shelter, and I hurt myself while trying to open those shutters. People had expectations, and I didn't reach them. I think...I think I'm afraid of being treated as an useless person because I'm not strong enough. I'm not smart, or charismatic. Physical strength is all I have"-  
  
Akane mulled over what Hikasa said, and chose her words. -"Being strong isn't your only trait. Look at how you have treated me this morning. I can see you're gentle and considerate, and there will always be people who will appreciate it. Being strong isn't everything for you"-  
  
Hikasa smiled. Akane could see that he was feeling better now. -"Thank you, Ogata-kun. Now, come with me. You got away with not doing the dishes this morning, and you won't get away with it again"- he said teasingly. Akane smiled, and followed him.  
  
 _I spent some time washing the dishes with Hikasa_.  
  
-ooooo-  
  
Akane spent the rest of the day in her room, worried of what could come. There wasn't much to do in the shelter, so being bored was too easy for her.  
  
The next day arrived slowly. Akane would have never known if it was day or not, if it weren't because of her clock. She woke up earlier that day, so it wasn't a complete waste now.  
  
Who will I talk with today…  
  
Most of the graduates were in the cafeteria, having breakfast. Some of them waved at her, happy to see her, while the most aloof focused on their food. Akane entered the kitchen. Chiba was cutting what seemed to be meat.  
  
-"Good morning, Ogata. You finally came for breakfast at a reasonable hour"- she said without looking at her. Akane held her urge to roll her eyes and replied with a greeting as well. –"I suppose you have already been informed about the rations matter"- Chiba said.  
  
-"Hikasa-san told me something about that. Why are you doing it?"-  
  
Chiba left the knife, and put the pieces of meat on the pans. –"If we want to survive for as long as we can, then we'll need to make some sacrifices. This group needs order, and as the leader, I have to put these policies on everybody"-  
  
Akane started to help Chiba with the cooking. As a Chemist, cooking always seemed interesting for her. –"I suppose you learned about that in the army"-  
  
-"I was never really in the army, but I do have worked with them. Most of their policies are very effective, Ogata"-  
  
-"And do you see all of us as your subordinates?"- Akane asked. Chiba thought for a moment.  
  
-"It is…complicated. This time I'm not safe away of the battlefield, while other people follow my orders. Now I'm in the battlefield itself, along with everybody else. I'd say you're all more like my…comrades"-  
  
 _Not that it'll stop you from being the boss_  
  
Chiba continued talking -"Matsukaze told me stuff about you, Ogata. I have been thinking to turn somebody into the second in charge here, and I think you'd be a good assistant for me. Would you like to accept the job?"-  
  
Akane was surprised to hear that. –"Do you really think I should do it?"-  
  
-"Yes. You're smart and have the quality of thinking before acting. Those are some of the characteristics a Strategist needs, and you have them. What do you say?"-  
  
The Chemist smiled. –"I accept"- Chiba smiled as well, and talked with a less serious tone.  
  
-"Alright, do military salutes. Like this. No, put your hand lower. Now, you have been promoted to Lieutenant Ogata. Congratulations!"-  
  
Akane lowered her arm, laughing. Chiba was a really nice person. –"So, your duties include aiding me whenever you're needed, and taking over the leadership of the group if I ever…you know…die"- Chiba lowered her voice. She was visibly afraid of the idea of dying, but she quickly left the fear behind. –"But I'll need some commitment from you. No more sleeping until noon, Ogata"-  
  
Akane gritted her teeth. _Oversleep once and nobody ever lets you live it down_  
  
-"Now that we left it aside, let's go with the first point in our agenda, Ogata. The morale of our team is high in these moments, but someday it may be prone to fall. We need ideas to counter that, if it ever happens. Any ideas?"-  
  
 _I spent time discussing plans with Chiba_  
  
-ooooo-  
  
The rest of the morning went through without any problems. Leaving aside the fact that they were trapped, Akane was really enjoying the company. It was nice to interact with people who weren't lurking in the corners, ready to mug her. She was even able to leave behind the fear of being killed by any of them.  
  
At least, until noon.  
  
An old speaker screeched over their heads.  
  
-"Mic test, mic test! Can you all hear me?"- Monobear talked through the speaker –"Everybody please reunite at the conference room. It is time to give you all a little incentive!"-  
  
-"A little incentive?"- Yamaguchi whispered. Hikasa nodded. –"Whatever it is, it can't be good"-  
  
Everybody reluctantly went to the conference room, dreading what Monobear could have for them. It was clear that the calmness before the storm was over.


	4. Chapter 1: It's Like Losing a Limb to Despair (Ab)normal Days II

The conference room hadn’t changed at all from the day they had been reunited there for the first time, at least for the most part. The same chairs, the same podium, and the same bear behind it, but there was something new. There was a curious contraption behind Monobear now, a huge round thing, filled with plastic balls. It reminded Akane of those machines used for bingo games.

-“Sit down, everybody! It is time to have some fun”- Monobear was cheerful. Nobody else shared his enthusiasm. The bear started to give every graduate a bingo card. Akane examined hers. There were nine squares on it.

_What the hell is this…_

Each square had what seemed to be crippling problems. _Blind. Mute. Deaf. No Arms. Paralyzed_ The Chemist stopped reading it, and shook her head. Other people were gasping.

-“What kind of sick joke is this?!”- Reiji shouted, throwing his card to the floor. Monobear picked it up and put it on Reiji’s lap again.

-“It’s a side project, while we wait for everything to end. How did I think this brilliant idea? I was there, minding my own business, when I realized I’d be pretty bored if I were to wait everybody to die of starvation, especially if nobody had the guts to murder. And I’m sure some of you would feel the same!

So I decided to play a game with you assholes, something so everybody can have fun. I have called it “Hope’s Peak’s Bingo Extravaganza”!

If nobody has been murdered after 24 hours, counting from now, I’ll start crippling all of you, through a random method. One each day, until a murder happens.”-

-“That is it. Hey you, Stuntsman. I’ll pay you big bucks if you crush the bear and make it look like an accident”- Miyata said, aloud enough for Monobear to listen. The bear didn’t say a word; he just glared at the CEO before continuing.

-“You fill a square if the disability is chosen and inflicted on a graduate. The first one to complete the board will earn a prize, which I’ll have to think later!”-

-“You…you wouldn’t dare to do it. How can you think of such cruel things?”- Kudo spoke softly, clearly being more worried for the Mastermind’s mental health than anything else. 

-“Oh, it wasn’t easy. You bastards have so few things left in your lives that it took me a good time to think of a good incentive for all of you. I didn’t go through all the work of making you all come, if it didn’t mean having the chance of seeing you all fall into despair. Think about it: a disability, which would mean you may not be able to use your talent anymore…”-

-“I-I’m not going to stay here listening to that monster. Let’s go, Yukio”- Reiji pulled his brother’s arm until they reached the doors, which opened easily. When everybody saw that they could get out of the conference room, all of them ran outside.

-“Yukio, brother, what will I do? I don’t want anything of that to happen to me. There must be a way to deal with this, a loophole, something! Think, Yukio!”-

-“I retract: there isn’t anything cool about that bear”- Sakurai said, again pale. He leaned against the wall, while he tried to regain his breath –“He is a monster. Whoever is controlling the bear is a monster. Crippling all of us? Unbelievable!”-

-“Not to mention insensitive. He is treating disabilities as if they were something to make fun of. Morals dictate that…”- Kudo had started talking, but Chiba yelled at him. 

-“You’re the only one here who cares about the fucking morals! Our physical integrity is in risk, and unless somebody dies, we’re all doomed”-

-“By the way, why did he let us out early? To me it seemed like he had more things to say”- Kudo spoke again.

Sawashiro was the only one who was calmed, as her own words showed -“Because what he wanted is now done. I see his intentions clear as day: he made a huge show on purpose. He is trying to scare us and coax at least one of us to do something horrible. Look at your reactions! He had success”-

-“Are you insinuating that he may not really do what he threatened to do?”- Toyogushi was clearly looking for something to calm him down, didn’t matter what it was. Sawashiro nodded.

-“I think that he’ll only cripple one or two of us before he realizes that nobody is going to kill. We need to stay strong. Trust me, people”-

At least half of the graduates calmed down, even if it was because they hoped that Sawashiro was right and they had much less chances of being crippled. The other half, however, was less than calmed.

-“I’m not going to take any chances. Come, Yukio. Bring all the food you can, we’re going to lock ourselves in our bedrooms”- both lawyers went towards the cafeteria, with Chiba following them.

Everybody started to leave towards different places. In order to distract herself, Akane chose to go to her bedroom and started to do chores. Cleaning her bedroom, putting her clothes to be washed, getting rid of the dust in the desk drawers, and several other similar actions. As much as she hated to admit it, she was very afraid. Monobear had brought out the most ridiculous and fearsome motive as the first incentive. She was sure that sooner or later other motives would happen, but she doubted she’d keep her sanity after knowing that one of her potential friends would be mutilated by Monobear.

She tried to forget about the motive, but it stayed in her mind. She looked at her watch. Several hours had passed since Monobear had told them the incentive. She needed some fresh air, well, as fresh as it could be inside the shelter.

The Chemist exited her bedroom, and heard voices from the cafeteria. Curiosity got the better of her, so she started approaching the voices. She stopped near the door and slowly leaned in to see what was going on.

There was a group of people in the cafeteria. Sawashiro was directing them to move candles, jars of salt, leaves, and a myriad of other stuff. She ordered everything to be put in certain positions. Akane noticed that the salt was forming circles with curious runes.

-“What is going on in here?”- she didn’t resist asking.

-“Hi Ogata-kun. We’re organizing a session”- Sawashiro replied, approaching Ogata. –“As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t feel as calmed as I implied I was. I need assurance”-

-“So, your way to get assurance is to contact the dead?”- Sawashiro nodded. –“I think I got lost in your logic, or your lack of it”-

-“The dead are more reliable than the alive, Ogata-kun. I trust them blindly, even if they can be annoyingly cryptic”-

Akane gave up on her attempts to understand the logic, and merely accepted Sawashiro’s intentions. –“Can I watch?”-

-“Sure, join us. Bring me a notepad and a pen, please”-

Ten minutes later, everything was ready for the session. Besides Akane, there were other four graduates as well, which were Yamaguchi, Kudo, Matsukaze and Sakurai. All of them had a lot of curiosity about Sawashiro and her medium abilities, and now it was their chance to see with their own eyes what exactly was going to happen.

-“Sit outside that circle, and be quiet. I need absolute silence. This is how I’ll proceed: due to the limited quality of the setting around us, I’ll have a very limited time to contact the spirits from beyond. Three questions should be good enough. Understood so far?”- everyone nodded, eager to see Sawashiro doing it.

The medium sat in middle of the smallest circle, and started to mumble with her eyes closed. Akane couldn’t understand a thing of what she was saying, but the mystical aura Sawashiro had was getting stronger by the second.

This is surreal, Akane thought when Sawashiro started to write on the notepad, still with her eyes closed. She had stopped mumbling, but it seemed like she was in a trance. After a while, she finally opened her eyes. She was obviously tired.

-“I’m fairly skeptical about all of this. I expected more…flare”- Matsukaze said, while standing up –“What did you write there?”-

-“I wrote the three questions that I wanted to see answered. If anything else was written, it wasn’t me…you know what I mean”-

-“Come on, read what it says!”- Akane hurried. Sawashiro opened the notepad. She frowned.

-“Once again, they got all cryptic. Wonderful”-

The rest continued asking Sawashiro to reveal what was written by the ‘spirits from beyond’. The Medium from Osaka finally complied.

-“”How can we stop Monobear’s current plan from happening?” That was the first question I wrote. Check this answer: “Don’t leave your personal belongings outside your bedroom”-

-“What’s that supposed to mean?”- Kudo asked, baffled. Sawashiro shrugged. 

-“Beats me. Let’s see the second question. “Who should I be wary of?” Here it says “Be wary of that one that pretends to be your friend but only seeks your downfall”. That fits almost half of the people in the shelter”- 

Akane noticed that Matsukaze was looking at her suspiciously. She avoided his eyes, and waited for Sawashiro to tell the last question.

-“The last one is more direct, we’re in luck. That was sarcasm, by the way. “How can we ensure us to live longer?” The answer is “Let the black king help you”-

-“Sawashiro, dear, I don’t mean to offend you, but your methods are a huge waste of time”- Sakurai said. He had started to pick up the candles. Clearly his interest had dwindled down to near zero.

-“No offense taken. I had never been in such a bad session…maybe I’m too stressed to interpret these messages right”-

-“Then there is nothing else to do than forgetting about this. Yamaguchi, dear, will you help me to clean everything?”- Sakurai was looking at the fashion designer in a very flirty way. She grimaced.

-“I need to go to sleep, I think I have a migraine”- she then sped out of the room, leaving Sakurai saddened.

-“Alright…who’ll help me to clean?”-

They weren’t really eager to clean, after the fiasco the session had ended to be. They all did something small here and there, but at the first chance, one would leave the cafeteria. Soon Sakurai was left alone in there. 

Akane stayed awake for a good while, thinking. She had hoped the session would bring something useful, so she was disappointed. _Don’t blame Sawashiro-san…it isn’t her fault. The dead are cryptic, that is all_

The only one that seemed to be clear was the first one. ‘Don’t leave your personal belongings outside your bedroom’. It was easy enough to follow, from now on; she would make sure that nothing that belonged to her would be forgotten. 

Her dreams were pretty uneasy. The anxiety of what could come in twelve hours created nightmares. She dreamed every option in the bingo card. The next morning, she woke up drenched in sweat. She felt unrested, and wished she could just stay there and sleep until everything was over, but ignoring the situation wouldn’t help her.

It was still early. She went to the lounge, where she found Sawashiro, Ginchiyo and Hikasa. They were visibly affected by the tension. In six hours, anybody would receive Monobear’s punishment.

-“It is horrible to think that I may be blind soon. Should have watched your movie, Ginchiyo. I’m sure it would have been an experience…”- Hikasa said grimly. The Film Maker grabbed The Weightlifter’s hands, in an attempt to comfort him.

-“If by any chance we get out of here, I’ll personally give you a copy of a DVD”-

-“There must be something we can do to avoid this”- Sawashiro was trembling. Her calmness from last day was gone.

Akane left the lounge silently, not wanting to interrupt what seemed like a private reunion of friends. The Chemist needed to talk with somebody, anybody, she needed to calm down. She had a really bad feeling about what was going to come later.

She stopped in front of one of the bedroom doors, and looked up to see who it belonged too. It was Reiji’s bedroom. She knocked the door, hoping that the Law Master would have time to talk with her.

The door opened a few millimeters. –“Who is it?”-

-“It’s me, Akane Ogata”-

The door fully opened, revealing Reiji’s actual appearance. He was pretty disheveled, as if he were suffering a grave case of the cabin fever. His behavior was flat out hostile. –“What do you want?”-

-“I just…”- Akane didn’t have any will now to talk with him. He clearly was still paranoid. Akane wondered if he had stored food under his bed or something –“…was going to see if you wanted to talk about anything”-

-“…go away”- and he slammed the door. Akane sighed and walked to the door directly to the side. When she was about to knock that door, Reiji opened his door again. –“If anything happens to my brother, I’ll make sure everybody knows it was you”- then he closed the door again, without waiting for a reply. Akane raised her eyebrows, not sure what to think of Reiji’s threat. It isn’t like she had a switchblade, ready to stab Yukio in the chest, so the warning was unexpected.

Akane knocked on the door, and soon Yukio opened it. His appearance was much tidier than his brother’s, and his demeanor was much friendlier as well. –“Good morning, Ogata-kun”-

-“I was wondering if you wanted to talk. I feel a bit uneasy”-

-“Monobear’s fault, eh? Sure, come in”- 

Yukio’s room was decorated with clear references to justice. A big statue of Athena was in the corner, and there were several books on the desk. –“Curious, eh? Whoever put us in this shelter at least knew the basics. All this stuff was already here”-

-“These are some pretty complicated books”- Akane commented, picking a random book from the desk. It was filled with a lot of law matters she had no idea about. 

-“Well, I’m good at what I do. Reading that is like reading mere fairytales for me”-

-“You do talk like you know what you do. Does it bother you to be the Assistant instead of the Master?”- As soon as she asked that, Akane regretted speaking. A dark cloud had covered Yukio’s eyes.

-“It doesn’t really bother me. Reiji…he is the Master for a reason, you know. What bothers me is that some people think that I’m lesser than him, because I’m the Assistant. Nothing farther from the truth”-Yukio was talking with a lot of conviction, as if he needed to convince himself that he was a good lawyer. 

I better not say that I did think that as well

-“Did you like your time in Hope’s Peak?”-

Yukio didn’t answer. He stared at the Athena statue, without saying a word for a while, until he finally spoke again. –“It was fine. Nothing too remarkable. I’m sorry, Ogata-kun. It is just that I feel uncomfortable talking about my brother’s title”-

-“I’m sorry I brought the topic…”-

-“No, it is okay. Who knows, Ogata-kun. Maybe someday we’ll be able to talk about it without making me feel like this. Meanwhile, why don’t you tell me about yourself? I’m sure there are many things you have to tell me”-

Yukio sat on his desk chair, and invited Akane to sit on his bed. 

_I talked with Yukio about me and my life, for a long while_

-ooooo-

Akane and Yukio were still talking, when the Assistant noticed what time it was. –“It is time, Ogata-kun. Noon”-

-“Why don’t we stay in our bedrooms? I don’t want to see anybody being crippled…”- Akane said. Yukio shrugged.

-“I think that Monobear would come for us and drag us to see that. We shouldn’t make him angry. Let’s go”-

Akane and Yukio walked towards the conference room. The Chemist was wishing the time would stop, she was terrified. What if luck dictated she would be the one who would get crippled? And what would the bear do to her? She struggled to contain her tears of fear, and entered the conference room. 

Most of the graduates were in there. Monobear was on the stage, making the round bingo contraption spin. The clatter of the balls filled the room. Akane took a deep breath and sat as far as she could from the stage.  
-“I didn’t expect anybody to really come in time. Are you all anxious to see crippling? Or were you all anxious to see me?”-

-“J-J-J-Just…let’s get over this”-Yukio said aloud, although he couldn’t avoid stuttering. Everybody watched, holding their breath, as Monobear spun the contraption. He finally stopped, and grabbed a random ball. He held it, and let the suspense hang on the air for a few seconds. Then he shouted a name.

-“YUKIO OHMOTO!”-

The Law Assistant almost fainted when his name was mentioned. He walked to the stage, trying to calm himself down, but it was obvious he was suffering in the inside. Monobear looked at the poor graduate, clearly enjoying his despair.

-“Do you know why I called you here?”- Yukio closed his eyes –“You’re here to…scratch my back. I can’t reach the itch”-

-“Whaaaaat?”- Yukio couldn’t avoid wailing in surprise. Monobear laughed.

-“You look like you saw a ghost! You should close your mouth before any flies get into it”-

-“Stop th-that! Just…please, let’s get done with this…cripple me”- Yukio closed his eyes and extended his hands as if he expected Monobear to chop them off.

-“And why would I do that?”- the bear replied. He looked at the audience of the conference room. All of them were watching expectantly, with varying degrees of fear. –“Ah, I see. We have a misunderstanding in our paws. There won’t be any crippling!”- Everybody looked at Monobear, wanting an explanation. –“Let’s get out of here, bastards. There is nothing else to say”-

The bear made everybody leave the conference room. The graduates were clueless about what just had happened.

-“Could it be that he got a change of heart?”- Sawashiro said. She was calm again.

-“If it had been a change of heart, then we would all be outside. No, it must be anything else…”- Ginchiyo interjected. 

-“It doesn’t take a genius to see what happened”- Toriumi said coldly –“Somebody died. One of us committed murder”-

Toyoguchi shuddered. –“Alright, who isn’t here? Please, let’s orderly…”- The Stuntsman was interrupted when Yukio ran away to the bedrooms. He started pounding on the door, desperate.

-“Brother! Reiji! Please, open the door!”-

The Law Master opened the door. –“What’s up with this scand…Yukio?”- the Assistant had hugged his brother. –“What’s going on?”-

-“Reiji is okay, guys!”- Hikasa had arrived, and shouted. Akane, Ginchiyo, Matsukaze, Chiba and Curtis approached. –“The rest of us split to search in the rest of the bunker. There is one person more missing…”-and after saying those words, Hikasa approached Saitou’s bedroom door. –“Saitou! Are you okay? Please, open the door!”-

Nobody answered.

-“Maybe he is in some other place of the bunker. We should wait for the rest to inform us”- Chiba said.

-“Monobear! Come here!”- Reiji had left his room, and was now calling the bear. Soon Monobear arrived the scene.

-“Did you call?”-

-“Can you open the door for us, please? We need to check something inside Saitou’s room”-

-“And why should I do that?”-

-“Do it!”-

-“Okay, no need to be bossy”- the bear inserted a claw into the ID contraption. The door unlocked. Matsukaze entered the room first, and came out almost instantly. 

-“It happened. He is dead”- and he opened the door so everybody could see.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Saitou-Dead-1.jpg.html)

Laying slumped at the other side of the room, covered with a white cloth, one could see who in life was Hoshio Saitou. He had his head covered in blood, and it also had stained his clothes. 

The silence was soon interrupted by Monobear. –“A body has been discovered! After a short period of investigation, we’ll start the Trial! But before that, I’ll need to explain something to all of you. To the conference room, once again!”

Curtis and Yukio went to tell the others what happened, and Akane and the rest of the group went to the conference room. The Chemist was deep in thought

_Saitou was killed…one of us sixteen killed him. But…Trial? What? What is Monobear planning now?_


	5. Chapter 1: It's Like Losing a Limb to Despair - Abnormal Days

The bingo contraption was gone. The pódium was back in its place, and Monobear was behind it once again. Nobody sat down; they all stayed near the doors. It was glaringly obvious nobody wanted to be there.

-"I'm happy to announce that one of you finally killed somebody! But if the culprit expected to be going out by now, then I'll gladly announce two words: "How naïve!" This is only the first part of the game. Now this is where all of you play your part.

You'll have a limited amount of time to investigate and gather any type of evidence you think could point to a culprit. After playing detectives, then the best part of the Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing will take place: the trial! A match where the innocent try to find the culprit.

If the culprit is found and voted guilty, then that person alone will be punished. However, if an innocent graduate is marked as the culprit, the real killer will be free and released to the outside"

-"Punishment? What will it be, exactly?"- Hikasa asked.

-"What are the stakes? Why, it won't be much. Just death"-

-"Are you saying that at the end of a trial there will be executions?!"- Toyogushi shouted. He was twitching, surely wanting to start investigating now.

-"That is correct! The number of executions depends on the result of the trial. It'd be tragic if you made a mistake and condemned yourselves to death, wouldn't it? So you better try your best to catch the culprit.

And with that, I'll leave you people free to investigate, but before that, have the first piece of your puzzle!"- Everybody's ID cards beeped. Akane took it out, and examined what had arrived. _Monobear file?_ She opened the file, and read its content. It was all very basic, but beggars can't be choosers.

** Monobear File #1 **

_Victim's name: Hoshio Saitou_

_Cause of death: Blunt object trauma_

_Time of death: 11:00 PM_

_Location of body: Hoshio Saitou's bedroom_

-"See you all in the Trial!"- Monobear once again vanished from sight.

-"Death for guessing incorrectly…luckily for all of us, we have a SHSL Detective right there"- Sakurai pointed at Matsukaze. The Detective stood straight, and authoritatively said he would ensure that the real culprit would be revealed, but Sakurai had thought of another possibility. –"But what if you're the one who killed Saitou? Then we'd all fall to our dooms because we trusted you!"-

-"Really, Sakurai-kun? If that is bothering you this much, then go and watch over my shoulder while I work. However…"- now Matsukaze was talking to everybody –"…don't leave the work only for me. We all need to cooperate if we want to find the killer. Now, let's go to the crime scene"-

Not everybody followed Matsukaze back to Saitou's bedroom. Others went their own ways, to do who knows what.

The door to Saitou's bedroom was still fully opened. People entered slowly, as if they didn't want to disturb Saitou, but the Detective told them to stay out ("You may step over the clues. Watch your step"), and picked two other graduates to start the investigation. Matsukaze, Sakurai and Kudo approached the corpse.

Akane couldn't see very well what they were doing, but Matsukaze moved naturally. He clearly knew what he was doing, and was considerate enough to inform aloud his findings.

-"…this man was bludgeoned to death, just like the bear's file said. I see…four blunt marks on his scalp, all of them in the frontal area. Around five centimeters of diameter…They have a crescent shape, don't you think, Kudo-kun?"-

-"I don't really see anything here that could have caused those wounds"- Kudo looked around the room –"But there is a mess in here. Look at all these trinkets strewn around…signs of a struggle?"-

Matsukaze acknowledged the possibility.

** Signs of a Struggle (?) **

_There's such a mess in the bedroom that it is possible there was a struggle_

During the next minutes, the three graduates dealt with the body, until they decided there was nothing else to see on it. From the door, Curtis raised his voice. –"Are there any clues that could point towards the culprit?"-

-"Oh yes. And I'd say it is pretty good, in my opinion"- Sakurai lifted the white cloth and held it open, so everybody could see what it was. Akane froze where she was, as she was wearing in that very moment an exact copy of the cloth. It was one of her lab coats. –"There are dry blood droplets, see? It is obvious this was pretty close to Saitou when the culprit hit him. Am I right, Ogata, dear?"-

-"H-How do you expect me to know?"- Akane said defensively. Sakurai approached.

-"Then let me make a supposition. You hit Saitou with whatever weapon you used, and the blood stained your lab coat. Then you left it on the body's lap…"-

-"And why would I leave such thing on the body, especially if I'm the only one it could be related?"-

Sakurai didn't find any words to continue the discussion. Matsukaze took that as a chance to intervene. –"Don't make hasty conclusions, Sakurai-kun. Save your accusations for the trial, and wait until you find more evidence"-

** Lab Coat **

_A long, white lab coat, with several blood droplets on it. It was found on Saitou's lap, as if it had been put there haphazardly. Belongs to Akane Ogata_

-"But I think she shouldn't be allowed to enter this room. She is the main suspect, after all"- Sakurai muttered. Akane was about to counter again, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

-"Don't worry, Ogata-kun. I'll convince him to let you in. Meanwhile check other places, if you want to"- Curtis said, and without giving Akane time to reply, started to argue with Sakurai. The Chemist stepped aside.

_My lab coat? Why my lab coat? How…ooooh…_

She started to run towards the Laundry Room. As soon as she got there, she opened the washer she had used the day before. It still had some of her clothes, but she still could see that one of the lab coats she had put in there was gone. Without a doubt, it was the one found on the body.

-"How could I forget I left all these clothes here?"- she said aloud, frustrated.

-"You have always been ridiculously absent-minded, Akane-kun. This is no surprise for me"- Akane turned around and saw Toriumi entering the Laundry Room. The Tutor had followed the Chemist.

-"I have no time for your insults"- Akane said, putting back the clothes in the washer.

-"I didn't come to insult you. You're the only person I more or less like here, Akane-kun, and as such, I have come to talk to you. Look at my eyes and tell me: did you kill Saitou?"-

Akane looked at Toriumi's eyes. –"Of course not!"-

-"I don't really have many options besides trusting the Akane I know. Let me help you, okay?"- Toriumi pushed her glasses so they didn't fall. –"Have you ever taken part of a murder investigation?"-

-"No…"-

-"I know some pointers that could be useful. Let's investigate together, and follow my example, alright?"- Toriumi led Akane out of the Laundry Room, and towards the bedroom hall.

Curtis was about to walk downstairs, when Akane and Toriumi came back. –"There you are, Ogata-kun. I convinced him to let you in"-

Akane muttered a thank you, and was about to enter when Toriumi yanked her arm. –"Woah, woah, woah. Where do you think you're going, Akechi Kogoro?"-

-"To check the crime scene. Let me go!"-

-"Poor young grasshopper, such a long road to walk and so little time for it. Listen. It'd be good if you talked with people if they give you the chance, instead of jumping straight into the scene. Any information can be useful in an investigation"-

-"How am I supposed to know who can tell me something good?"-

-"You can't, so you better choose wisely, but you can't just ignore people. Curtis-san was kind enough to help you; I'd say talking to him could be productive"-

Akane sighed. –"Alright. Just let go my arm. Hey, Curtis-san!"-

The painter turned around. Akane ran to him. –"I was wondering, why did you argue with Sakurai to let me enter?"-

-"Ah, it is because just a lab coat isn't enough evidence to think you're the culprit. Besides, I doubt you'd leave it there, if you had killed him, and if you add the victim's actions to the mix, then that coat turns into a very flimsy piece of evidence"-

Part of Curtis' words piqued Akane's curiosity. –"The victim's actions? What do you mean, exactly?"-

The painter thought for a moment. –"Maybe I'm wrong, but last night, around 7:00 PM, I saw Saitou-kun exit the Laundry Room with a heap of clothes. I think your lab coat was in there, I did see a long white sleeve. Saitou doesn't have any white shirts with long sleeves, right?"-

-"No idea, but why would Saitou take one of my coats?"-

Curtis shrugged. Akane tried to get some other information, but nothing productive was obtained.

** Curtis' Testimony **

_Last night, a few hours before the murder, Saitou stole one of Akane's lab coats_

Once Curtis left, Toriumi spoke again. –"See, Akane-kun? If you hadn't talked to him, chances are that you wouldn't have ever heard about it…although I do think he may have planned to say it in the trial"-

-"Okay, Toriumi-sensei. I get it, you know more than me, etc. Can we go to the crime scene now?"-

Now Toriumi approved entering to Saitou's bedroom. There were a few graduates in the main room, examining different parts of it. _Where should I start? There are so many places where there could be potential clues…_

Toriumi went straight to Saitou's closet, and opened it. –"I don't see any white shirts with long sleeves. I'd say it is safe to say that he did take the lab coat"-

-"I didn't have any doubt of that"-

-"Evidence is the most important tool you have. Always verify the information you receive, if possible"- Toriumi said. Akane could see that she was really enjoying educating Akane about this.

Akane examined what was on Saitou's desk, where Yukio was rummaging through the drawers. There were several odd objects, ranging from collectible objects, to junk Akane had no idea could be sold. –"It is an interesting group of objects, right? Saitou-san tried to sell me some of those things"- Yukio commented.

-"Must have been very annoying"-

-"You have no idea. He kept saying something along the lines of "But you're such a good lawyer, Ohmoto-kun. Surely somebody with as much class as you can see how useful this novelty megaphone can be!""-

Akane smiled. Those definitely were Saitou's selling methods. –"Ah, leaving his asskissing aside, I don't see anything here that could have caused his wounds. Got any luck?"-

-"No. Just…newspapers, black sticky tape, more novelty trash, and dust. Nothing that could have been used"-

** Desk Drawers Content **

_Just a lot of newspaper, a roll of black tape and several novelty items. Nothing worthwhile_

Akane nodded, and crouched to see under the bed. There she found something that actually gave her a few ideas. –"Toriumi-san, take a look at this"- Akane pulled out a strange object. It seemed to be a giant chess piece, made of stone. It represented a white king. Toriumi took it. –"Akane-kun, are you thinking the same I'm thinking?"-

-"This must have been the weapon"-

-"Yes, that must be. But this isn't the first time I see this thing. Here, let me show you"- Akane passed Toriumi the giant chess piece. –"Saitou tried to sell me this thing. Want to know why only a SHSL Salesman could try to sell this? Because it is crap. Look"-

Toriumi twisted the cross at the top of the king, and a blade sprouted from the bottom of the chess piece. –"It is a switchblade inside a huge decorative stone king. It is stupid even in theory. I have heard there is a whole set of giant stone chess pieces, but only the kings have blades"-

-"Wow…"- that was everything Akane could say in that moment. Toriumi examined every inch of the chess piece, including the blade.

-"I see no traces of blood at all on this thing. Maybe we're wrong and this isn't the weapon but…hey, Matsukaze-san!"- She approached the Detective. –"Could you check if this abomination fits the wounds, please?"-

The Detective took the chess piece. –"Meanwhile, let's check other stuff, Akane-kun"-

Akane looked around, and saw an ID on the floor, at the other side of the room, near the contraption to enter the bathroom. She picked it up and turned it on. It belonged to Saitou. –"You better leave that where it was, Ogata. I was drawing a map of where everything was"-

-"Oh, sorry. Didn't know…but why is it so far from the body?"-

Matsukaze didn't turn around; he kept working with the chess piece and Saitou's head. –"We found it there. Ginchiyo used It to open the bathroom, but that is where we found it"-

** Saitou's ID **

_Found far from the body, near the ID slot to access the bathroom._

-"Okay, Toriumi-kun. I compared this, and I can affirm that this is a perfect match, I'm sure of it. But…this is too clean, don't you think?"- He passed it back to Toriumi.

** White Stone King Switchblade **

_A ridiculous chess piece, with a switchblade inside. It matches the weapon used to kill Saitou, but it is too clean. Did the culprit clean it?_

Akane and Toriumi entered the bathroom. Miyata and Ginchiyo were in there. Ginchiyo seemed to be deep in thought.

-"What's the matter, Ginchiyo?"- Toriumi asked. The Film Maker took a moment before replying.

-"I'm just thinking about possible culprits…so, Miyata-kun explained me how the bathroom lock mechanism works. Miyata-kun, would you please tell them?"-

Miyata turned around. –"Hi Ogata, Toriumi. As I told you I would, Ogata, I found out more about the bathrooms.

Basically, when somebody inserts the ID and opens the door, the bathroom door opposite to the one opened is shut down with a lock, which is a steel bar that goes into this hole above the latch, when locked. Once one goes back to the bedroom and the bathroom door is closed, then the person who owns the other bedroom will be able to enter. It is very simple, isn't it?"-

-"It sounds easy to override. Just block the door with something so it doesn't close"-

Miyata laughed condescendingly. –"Of course it isn't easy. If the door stays open, then nobody else can access the bathroom. If you examine the mechanism of the door knob mechanism, you'll see that there is some sort of sensor in the latch. The door NEEDS to be closed.

This is all specially designed to make sure only one bathroom door is open at any time"-

** Bathroom Doors Mechanism **

_When entering the bathroom, the opposite door will lock itself. Only one bathroom door can be open at any point._

-"That is dandy, sure, but who do you have in mind, Ginchiyo?"-

-"Okay, last night I was worried that somebody would try to kill, so I thought it'd be good if I did some sort of mechanism to know if anybody went out of their rooms during the night. So I tied a thin nylon string in front of each door, at a certain height, ensuring that it were impossible to enter or exit a bedroom without noticing it"-

-"If anybody came out they would have noticed the string and they would get rid of it, right?"- Akane guessed.

-"Yes, that is exactly what I had in mind. So this morning I woke up as early as I could and checked the strings. Most were intact, but I wrote here which doors didn't have the strings anymore.

** Ginchiyo's Testimony **

_Yamaguchi, Sakurai, Matsukaze, Sawashiro, Saitou and Kudo possibly left their rooms during the night._

-"It's far from being infallible, but I think it was good enough, as I set the strings around one hour before the murder, and checked them at 4:00 AM. What I don't really like is that I don't see any motive for any of those five to kill Saitou…"- she mused

-"Wasn't the threat of being crippled enough motive? I'd have killed for that"- Toriumi said coldly.

-"Just curiosity…who owns the bedroom at the other side of that door?"- Akane asked.

-"It belongs to Sawashiro. She let us check her bedroom and we didn't see anything odd"- Miyata replied.

Akane was about to leave the bathroom, when she was the trash can. She peeked inside. It was completely empty, save for a piece of black tape. _Should I remember this? Well, why not?_

** Piece of Black Tape **

_Found in the trashcan in the shared bathroom_

It didn't seem like there was anything else to check inside Saitou's bedroom. Akane was tired, so they went to the cafeteria to relax for a moment. When they entered, the Chemist stopped to contemplate the mess left last night. That morning during breakfast nobody had commented about it, but it was clear nobody had the will to organize it.

-"Whoever made this mess is really inconsiderate to have left it there"- Toriumi said, frowning. Akane confessed that it was several people's work, and told Toriumi everything about the medium session from last night. The Tutor listened with attention, although her expression didn't hint that she was entirely convinced by it. Her following words contradicted her expression, though.

-"Interesting…this could enlighten some points…"-

-"What? Did you notice anything?"-

-"First than all, you mentioned the dead people's words. Leaving aside the fact that they're words uttered by dead people, they do seem related to this crime. Unless those souls are psychic, I'd say that at the moment of the session the culprit had already planned the murder"- Toriumi explained.

-"But how do them relate to the…"- Akane started, but Toriumi put a finger on her lips.

-"Quiet. Now, first: 'Don't leave your belongings out', or whatever you said. Tell me, is it likely that your coat would be in the crime scene if you hadn't been silly, leaving your laundry over there?"-

-"I…I…"- Akane didn't say a thing. She knew that it could have been avoided if she hadn't forgotten her laundry.

-"Second: 'that person who pretends to be your friend'. It may be my imagination, but I'd say it fits Saitou more than anybody else. That guy was always complimenting and trying to get on people's good side. It may be a bit of a stretch, but that is what I think"-

-"Well, I'll have to agree with you on that"- Akane conceded. Toriumi nodded.

-"The last thing is what convinces me that the medium session is related to this murder more than you thought: 'the black king will ensure you live longer'. Now, remember that white stone king? The one with the switchblade? If there is a whole set of decorative chess pieces, then it'd not be farfetched to think there is a _black king_ as well, of the same size and material. What if it was the real crime weapon, and somebody who went to the session got inspired by that third line?"-

-"I don't think there's much chance of it existing…why would Saitou carry around two heavy chess pieces around?"-

-"Remember that Monobear or whoever controls him left some objects in our rooms. It is possible that he left several novelty items inside the Salesman's bedroom, as it is related to his profession. Or maybe Monobear felt like giving potential weapons. Didn't you find one in your bedroom?"- Toriumi continued.

Akane shaked her head. She hadn't found anything that could be used as a weapon.

** Black Stone King Switchblade (?) **

_A potential weapon of the crime, that is, if it exists. Currently missing or nonexistent_

** Medium Session: Lines Received **

_Don't leave your personal belongings outside your bedroom / Be wary of that one that pretends to be your friend but only seeks your downfall / Let the black king help you_

-"Wait, Toriumi-san…I remember something"- Akane had just noticed something –"Ginchiyo…the people she listed as people who possibly came out of their rooms during the night…they're the people who came to the session"-

_Yamaguchi, Kudo, Matsukaze and Sakurai_

-"Good. I'd say that they do are the most likely to be the culprit, but isn't it funny that there are absolutely no clues that point to the culprit?"-

Akane thought of that for a moment. Indeed, of everything found, nothing pointed towards a concrete person. –"How could that be possible?"-

-"It is possible that the culprit tampered with the scene at some point. I find it curious…that Matsukaze, Sakurai and Kudo were the ones to enter the crime scene first. Any of them would have a chance to tamper it"-

Those four names were now going around Akane's mind.

** Medium Session: Assistants **

_Yamaguchi, Kudo, Matsukaze, Sakurai and Akane took part of the medium session of the night before the crime_

-"And everything around here…they all were the ones who put everything ready for the session. Think it could be related?"- Akane said excitedly. Toriumi looked at her disapprovingly.

-"That's stretching the chances too much. How could the preparations for the session be related to the murder?"-

The Chemist was taken aback by the Tutor's glare. –"…I was just saying…"-

_Still…_

** Medium Session: Preparations **

_A whole load of different objects and elements, with the sole purpose of helping Sawashiro in the session. Everything was still around in the morning_

-"I don't think I can really teach you anything else about investigating. I'll now go and prod around to see if I can find anything else. See you at the trial, Akane-kun"- Toriumi pushed her glasses and left. Akane was left with her thoughts. She looked around the cafeteria, the kitchen and the pantry, looking for clues and/or the black chess king. She didn't find anything she hadn't seen before, but there was something odd about the stuff used in the session of last night.

The candles that had been left strewn around the room were now huddled together in a single place, and they also looked like they had been used for longer than the session. Between the candles Akane could see what looked like pieces of tiny burnt cloth.

** Candles **

_A group of candles. They look like they were used for longer than the session. There are small pieces of burnt cloth at the bottom._

Leaving the candles matter aside, Akane thought about where she would hide or get rid of the giant chess piece. The answer was actually obvious, now that she thought of it. _The trash room!_ She should check it before Monobear started the Trial.

Akane practically ran until she entered the Trash Room. There were two people already in there.

-"Just when I was about to ask for help. Come, help us!"- Yamaguchi shouted. Toriumi and she had their arms inside the trash compactor, as if they were trying to pull something out. Akane approached, and grabbed whatever they wanted to pull out.

With one last pull, a big sleeping bag emerged from the trash compactor, bringing out a good amount of trash along with it. –"Ugh, what a mess…"-

-"Why were you trying to get this, Yamaguchi-san?"- Akane asked

-"I came here, trying to find any clues that could have been throw into the trash, when I saw a big object. It seemed like it shouldn't be there, so I tried to get it out, but it was stuck. That compactor really does a good job"-

-"Our efforts have paid off…"- Toriumi opened it, and rummaged inside. She opened her eyes really wide, and pulled something from the bag. Akane was ecstatic when she was the object.

-"It's the black king!"-

Effectively, the missing giant chess piece was inside the sleeping bag. Toriumi twisted the top, and the switchblade sprung from it.

-"What's the deal with that thing?"- Yamaguchi asked. Akane explained to Yamaguchi the situation, while Toriumi examined the black king.

-"There was an attempt to clean it, but I can see a few traces of blood. They're clearer in the blade; as if it had never been touched…I have no doubts that this is what crushed Saitou's head"-

 **Updated:** **Black Stone King Switchblade**

_Undoubtedly the weapon of the crime. The culprit tried to clean it. Found inside a sleeping bag, in the trash compactor_

-"Wait; there is something else in here!"- Yamaguchi looked inside the sleeping bag, and pulled a second object. It was a handkerchief. It was burnt and covered with soot, and whatever design on it was now unrecognizable. In some parts where the soot didn't cover the cloth, one could see blood.

** Burnt Handkerchief **

_Found inside a sleeping bag, in the trash compactor. There's no way to see the design, except by one corner, where one can see a golden color. Has blood on it._

** Sleeping Bag **

_Found inside the trash compactor. How's it related to the murder besides being used to get rid of evidence?_

The three girls were about to discuss their findings, when Monobear's voice screeched again through the speakers.

-"I'm tired of waiting and seeing you bastards going around in circles. It is time for the trial!"- He said –"Enter the shutters in the lounge and enter the red door you'll find in the hall behind it"-

Akane felt a pang of nervousness. She personally had no idea about who the culprit was, despite having a list of suspects. If they blamed the wrong person…then this may as well be the last moment she'd enter a place.

Nobody spoke while they gathered in the room they found when they entered through the red door. It was some sort of lobby, complete with work out chairs and all. There was a grid blocking the hall at the other side. Akane sat, and mulled over the evidence she had found until now.

-"Akane-kun, keep an eye open. Despite our lack of evidence, it can be possible to catch the culprit, but only if you listen carefully to everybody's words. We'll all make an effort, don't worry. It'll all go okay"- Toriumi had approached, and as soon as she said those words, she went away.

Soon the grid opened, and everybody went through the hall. At the end, they found a round room, with sixteen podiums. Some retched at the sight of Saitou's photo with a huge X, finding it to be tasteless. Monokuma was on a throne, clearly enjoying himself.

-"This is going to be great! Are you all as excited as I am? No need for an answer. Go to the podium marked with your name, and get ready for our first Trial!"-

Akane walked to the podium. Once she was on it, she looked at her sides. Curtis and Sakurai were directly to her sides. They both seemed pretty nervous as well. Everybody else had varying grades of fear. Akane wondered where Toyogushi and Chiba had gone; she had seen neither of them during the investigation. Surely they were busy.

_It's time…Hoshio Saitou, I'm going to help clear the details of your death. I promise it!_


	6. Chapter 1: It's Like Losing a Limb to Despair Trial I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note:
> 
> In the Nonstop Debate, the bold normal lines are weak yellow points, while the bold italic ones are blue points. Due to Archive of Our Own's limitations, namely the lack of color in text, it can't be fully done here.

* * *

-"We have all been reunited here to start the trial for Hoshio Saitou's murder. If you're successful and identify correctly the culprit, only that person will be executed. But if you blame it on an innocent graduate, the culprit will leave the shelter and everybody else will be executed. Now, let's start!"-

-"Nobody fret. We'll nail the culprit. Now, where should we start?"- Chiba asked, expecting somebody to take the first step.

-"Maybe we could try to reconstruct what we know about the murder"- Yamaguchi affirmed. Chiba nodded, approving the proposition.

-"Alright, first than all, remember that it happened around 11:00 PM last night, in Saitou's room, bludgeoned to death with a weapon similar to this"- Matsukaze put on his podium the white king. Everybody contemplated at the odd element- 'That's the base. Let's start building over it"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

_Bullets: Ginchiyo's Testimony / Candles / Monobear File 1_

YAMAGUCHI: Saitou was attacked in his room...

YAMAGUCHI: ... **Nobody can enter** without him knowing

SAKURAI: It's possible that the culprit...

SAKURAI: ... _ **was already inside**_ when he entered!

GINCHIYO: I think that it was a visitor, _**invited by Mr Saitou**_ himself.

TOYOGUSHI: _**Or a surprise visit**_. It may have been unplanned.

CHIBA: The culprit waited until Saitou was careless...

CHIBA: ...and **attacked him when he turned his back around**!

MIYATA: Then the culprit fled from the room, satisfied.

YAMAGUCHI: Eeeh...I don't know about you guys...

YAMAGUCHI: ...but I feel we're not going anywhere.

* * *

Akane listened to their words. There was something that had called her attention, and it didn't take her long before she realized what it was.

-"Chiba-san, I doubt the attack was a surprise for Saitou, much less through the back"-

-"I don't think a frontal attack would be effective"- Chiba crossed her arms.

-"But that is what happened. If you check the file, you should see that all the head wounds are near the front of the head. Saitou-san saw the attack coming"-

-"...oh. Sorry, I didn't really investigate"- she replied sheepishly.

-"We all noticed now, oh fearless leader"- Toriumi said, mocking.

-"Why would the culprit choose Saitou as the victim, though? To me it seems that the culprit was invited by Saitou and took the chance to kill him"-

-"That's why there was a struggle! While they talked or whatever they were doing, the murderer did his move and Saitou resisted"-

-"Okay, guys, this is fun, butacas we should focus on something else. Let's start pointing fingers"- Sakurai said, then, turning to Akane -"You! Dear, you killed Saitou-san!"-

Several of the graduates groaned. -"Tell us you have something more than the lab coat"-

-"We should listen to him, though. Maybe his logic is sound"-

Sakurai beamed with pride. -"Thank you. Now let me say what I think Ogata-chan did!"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

_Bullets: Candles / White Stone King Switchblade / Medium Session: Preparations / Medium Session: Lines Received / Monobear File #1_

SAKURAI: Ogata-chan planned everything in advance.

SAKURAI: She chose Saitou because she could attack him...

SAKURAI: ...while **he gushed over her**!

SAKURAI: He let her enter. They fought...

SAKURAI: ...and then **she hit him with the weapon she had brought**.

SAKURAI: With that giant chess piece! She took off her coat...

SAKURAI: ...and left it on the body **for reasons unknown** for us.

SAKURAI: It is all a cunning plan to make her look innocent!

SAWASHIRO: I had expected something better, but eh

SAKURAI: No rebuttal, dear? Then it is a victory for me

* * *

Akane smirked. It hadn't been hard to see a point where she could attack.

-"So you say that I planned everything in advance...right?"-

-"Oooooof course"- Sakurai was pretty smug. _Poor guy, it's time to crush this_

-"Then why didn't I prepare something pretty important? I'm talking about the weapon"-

Sakurai looked confused. -"But that white chess piece is yours...along with the coat and all..."-

-"You're so wrong! Saitou-san was the owner of that thing. It should be safe to assume it was in his bedroom. If I were going to kill somebody, I wouldn't wait until the last moment to pick a weapon!"-

-"And whose word will we trust? Yours? Just because you say it isn't yours doesn't mean it is true"-

-"Then she can help now"- Akane signaled at Toriumi. Sakurai looked at her quizzically.

-"I can confirm that Saitou-san owned those abominations"-

Sakurai had the expression of who had been dispelled a great belief in front of him. She stammered, trying to find something else to say. Toriumi continued talking.

-"Besides, this is the real weapon"- Toriumi had brought the black king in her bag. Everybody looked at the new object, as only three had seen it before.

-"We can safely say that nothing of this was planned. It's clear as day!"- Reiji said, hitting the podium.

Before anybody else could agree or disagree, Toriumi stood up straight and snarled.

**DEFEND YOUR REASONING!**

Reiji backed down of his podium, surprised. -"What...I..."-

-"If you're so sure that the culprit had no intention of killing, Ohmoto, then answer me something: why did it happen? Just for shits and giggles?"-

-"Well...I think that...Yukio, help me..."- Reiji whimpered. Yukio was about to talk when Toriumi glared at him.

-"I asked your brother, not you"-

Cornered, Reiji stayed silent. The atmosphere that had formed, as if Toriumi and Reiji were going to have a swordfight in middle of the trial, defused. The Law Master was in no condition of talking. Then Akane intervened, she had thought of a new possibility.

-"I do agree with Reiji. The culprit didn't enter the room planning to kill Saitou-san"-

Toriumi turned back to Akane, with an expression of contempt. -"You better not back down, Akane-kun"-

**DEFEND YOUR REASONING!**

-"Same question for you: then why did Saitou die?"-

Although Akane felt intimidated by Toriumi's expression, she didn't back off. -"There must be an explanation..."-

-"You talk as if you have no conviction. I'm so going to tear you down"- Toriumi pushed up her glasses, grinning creepily.

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

_Swords: Ginchiyo's Testimony / Piece of Black Tape / Signs of Struggle (?)_

TORIUMI: There was obvious intention to kill

Four blows to the head don't happen by accident!

And the mere fact that the culprit was

In Saitou's bedroom almost at midnight,

Whether invited or not, is enough for me to say that

There were ill intentions present!

OGATA: I do agree that there were ill intentions

But it is possible they didn't come with the visitor!

TORIUMI: Wait, are you insinuating that they came from Saitou-san?

Now you have really done it, Akane-kun!

What would Saitou do

That warrants being killed?

**Nothing hints he did anything!**

* * *

Akane dealt the blow she needed to defeat Toriumi. -"Toriumi-san, what if there was a struggle and it was initiated by Saitou-san?"-

-"Eh?"- The Tutor raised her eyebrows, and asked Akane to continue.

-"I'm saying that it is possible that the one who started the whole murder was Saitou-san himself. He invited somebody and attacked that person. Both struggled, and at the end it was the Salesman the one who was killed"-

-"You can't just go and call Saitou-san a killer because of a struggle"- Hikasa said. Akane shook her head.

-"It isn't just that. There are other details that show Saitou had something odd in mind. Something Saitou did…related to this:"-

* * *

Monobear File #1

Signs of a Struggle (?)

Lab Coat

Curtis' Testimony

Desk Drawers Content

Saitou's ID

White Stone King Switchblade

Bathroom Doors Mechanism

Ginchiyo's Testimony

Piece of Black Tape

Black Stone King Switchblade

Medium Session: Lines Received

Medium Session: Assistants

Medium Session: Preparations

Candles

Burnt Handkerchief

Sleeping Bag

* * *

**Lab Coat**

* * *

-"How many here know why the lab coat was in the crime scene?"- Akane started. Curtis, and Toriumi raised their hands, nobody else moved. –"Saitou took my lab coat from the laundry. Curtis saw him, a few hours before the murder. The reasons for that happening aren't really obvious, and I may be wrong as well"-

-"The visitor felt something was afoot, and attacked Saitou first!"- Yamaguchi hit her hand with her fist, as if she had solved everything.

-"No, I think that Saitou was the one who attacked first. Matsukaze, did you draw what you said you would draw?"-

-"Sure I did"- he took out a large folded piece of paper from his pocket, and extended it. –"I have recorded here the location of everything in the bedroom"-

**Bedroom Map**

_A drawing of Saitou's room. Shows the location of every object found in there_

Akane examined the drawing. It was pretty detailed. She wondered how long it took the Detective to draw it.

-"I suppose that the culprit and Saitou fought beside the desk, here. While they struggled, they knocked on everything that was on the desk, and it fell where we found it. But supposing that Saitou kept everything on the desk, there is an object we found in a different place inside the bedroom, which can't just have fell down with the rest"-

* * *

Monobear File #1

Signs of a Struggle (?)

Lab Coat

Curtis' Testimony

Desk Drawers Content

Saitou's ID

White Stone King Switchblade

Bathroom Doors Mechanism

Ginchiyo's Testimony

Piece of Black Tape

Black Stone King Switchblade

Medium Session: Lines Received

Medium Session: Assistants

Medium Session: Preparations

Candles

Burnt Handkerchief

Sleeping Bag

Bedroom Map

* * *

**White Stone King Switchblade**

* * *

The Chemist was feeling very confident. In her eyes, everything was clear. The challenge for her was to communicate her logic to the rest. –"The white king!"-

-"Let me check the map"- Chiba asked. Akane passed it through the room, until the Strategist had it in her hands.

-"Akane, it is true that the bed is somewhat far from the desk, but I don't think it is hard to suppose it just fell and rolled all the way to the bed"-

-"I think something else happened, Chiba-san. What I think happened is that…"-

* * *

_…Saitou hid the white king under the bed_

_…Saitou got the white king knocked out of his hands_

_…The culprit moved the white king under the bed_

* * *

**_…Saitou got the white king knocked out of his hands_ **

* * *

-"I'd like to suppose that Saitou-san attacked the culprit first, with the white king, whether it was with the switchblade or the stone chess piece itself. Then during the struggle, the culprit managed to knock it off, and the white king rolled until it reached the spot where we found it"-

Nobody looked convinced by Akane's reasoning. Finally somebody spoke.

-"Ogata-chan, dear, it isn't because I doubt your words or anything, well, I do, but I think you're making a huge fuss over nothing"- Sakurai said, waving his hand.

-"Over nothing? I'm sure that Saitou-san was about to kill somebody that night, and invited a poor sap to his room to do it!"- Akane said, before she managed to calm down.

-"I'll have to agree, Akane-kun. You're supposing too much. There isn't really anything conclusive that proves that Saitou started the struggle. Would you like to defend your reasoning again? I'd like to see you do it"- Toriumi took a daring stance, ready for another round. This time Akane sighed.

-"Whatever. Let's see what direction this trial takes"-

But it didn't take a good direction. What followed were ten minutes where half of the graduates spouted possible suspects, and the other half disproved their reasoning. Miyata, Sawashiro and Kudo were the main accusers, while Toriumi, Matsukaze and Yukio were the ones who mostly countered the accusations.

Toyogushi kept chewing gum, Akane played with her hair, still thinking she was right, Chiba quipped with her own opinion once in a while, and everybody else just stood around, taking little part of the discussion. It was a senseless mess, with nothing productive being done.

The sheer uselessness of some grated the minds and heart of the most logical members of the group, while the accusations and cheap shots hurt the most sensible ones' feelings.

Finally, somebody said something that hadn't been proposed before.

-"We're getting nowhere. We should do something new, something that could take us in a new direction. I have been thinking…it is your chance to shine, Sawashiro-kun"- Matsukaze said, turning to look at the Medium. The aforementioned Sawashiro just let a –"Eh?"- While she waited for Matsukaze to say something more specific, which he did. –"Let's interrogate the victim himself. You can contact the dead, Sawashiro. Can you make him somehow be here so he can explain to us what happened?"-

Akane gasped. Of course! It was a possible solution to the whole thing, but she still said aloud: -"That's crazy!"-

-"Sometimes crazy is what one needs. It isn't Occam's razor, but it is better than continuing with this circus. Unless Sawashiro-kun can't do something like this, of course"- he said, with a tone that clearly implied Sawashiro was useless.

-"And now you're saying she is a sham? That's cold"-

-"I-I'm not a sham…but I need preparation, Matsukaze-san. Mystical signs and all, like we did last night. Letting a dead possess me isn't easy"- Sawashiro argued. Matsukaze replied that he could care less about preparations, and wanted a straight answer. Sawashiro was about to reply, when her face illuminated. It was obvious she had thought of something.

Monobear sprung from his throne. –"No, no, no! Talking with the victim would be cheating! There'll be no cheating in my trial!"-

-"Chill, bear. We don't even know if it is possible"- Toyogushi said, trying to calm the bear. It didn't really work

-"You know how boring a trial would be if the victim rose from his makeshift grave and started spilling the beans about his death? Where would be the emotion of that?!"-

-"No…Monobear…I think that the trial could take an interesting turn, if you know what I mean"-

Sawashiro was the one who had talked, and she was smiling towards the bear. Oddly, after a few seconds, Monobear stopped his angry behavior and sat down again.

-"Okay, go ahead, pull the poor soul out of his peace and bring him back to the despair"-

Akane raised her eyebrows. Monobear's sudden change of opinion seemed really unnatural to her, but she had no more time to dwell about it. Sawashiro had started mumbling.

The Medium shivered and held as strong as she could to her podium, she seemed like she was going through great pain. For a minute, Sawashiro acted erratically, and everybody supposed it meant she was trying to attract Saitou's soul back to the trial.

Finally, Sawashiro stood up still. Everybody looked at her curiously, dreading to see what happened. The Medium slowly raised her head, and looked around. It wasn't like her body had turned into Saitou, or as if her voice changed, but her expression had turned different, one that Sawashiro had never in her face before.

-"Eh? Oh? Where am I now? Why are you all reunited in a circle? Is this a witch hunt?"-

-"Who…who are you?"- Curtis asked cautiously. Sawashiro, or the person with Sawashiro's body, frowned as if it were a stupid question.

-"Hoshio Saitou, of course. Come on, Curtis-san, you're more attentive than this. Can't you see it is me?"-

-"It is because you're a girl now!"- Kudo shouted. Sawashiro/Saitou snickered, and looked at the robe he was wearing now.

-"Oh wow, this is true. I'm in Sawashiro-kun, right? At least I'm inside a beautiful lady"-

_Oh man, not even being dead can stop his shameless complimenting?_

-"Enough foolishness! Saitou-san, you were called here so you could say who killed you"- Toriumi hit her podium, and Saitou flinched.

-"Oh, yes, I'm dead. Hell is a real scorching place, you know"- he said. Nobody laughed or even smiled, they weren't really in mood for lame jokes. –"Okay, want to know who killed me?"-

-"Just do it"- Hikasa urged. Saitou extended his arm dramatically, and moved it around until he pointed to a concrete graduate.

-"It was her! Akane Ogata, you're the one who killed me!"-

Akane gasped. Saitou was really accusing her? She waited for a moment to see if he would change his pointing finger, but it didn't move. Now everybody was looking back to Akane.

-"No, I didn't…"- she said, but Saitou interrupted her.

-"You did! You came to my room and killed me!"- He shrieked in Sawashiro's voice.

The Chemist started to sweat. Leaving aside the accusation, she felt there was something very odd about the whole ordeal, starting with Monobear, and ending in Saitou's behavior. There was something about it she couldn't really pinpoint, but it told her that maybe there was something else behind the whole 'contacting Saitou' thing.

And now she had to once again defend herself, and find what was really going on in that trial.


	7. Chapter 1: It's Like Losing a Limb to Despair Trial II

After Saitou made his accusation, the graduates started to yell questions and outlandish affirmations at Akane. The Chemist was gripping the hem of her lab coat, trying to keep herself from saying anything before everybody calmed down. Saitou was satisfied with the reaction.

-"I can't believe it was you, Ogata-kun. You seemed like such a nice person..."- Hikasa said.

-"What did he ever do to you? Murderer!"- Reiji lashed out.

-"No wonder she tried to say Saitou had wanted to kill. She was hiding her crime!"- Sakurai shrieked.

-"Can we start the voting now? I want to take revenge on my murderer"- Saitou said.

Then finally somebody acted like the voice of reason. Yamaguchi hit her podium several times. -"It's way too early to mark Ogata as the culprit. We should continue the trial for a while longer. Remember that our lives are what are in stake here. We do it wrong, and we all die"-

-"I agree with her"- Curtis turned to Saitou/Sawashiro. -"Remember anything about the moment of your death?"-

-"How can I forget that? I remember all the details"-

-"Excellent, please tell us how you died. The more detailed, the better"-

-"I'll do as you say. Let me tell you you're being prudent, quite an admirable trait..."- Saitou cleared Sawashiro's throat and started talking.

** Nonstop Debate **

_Bullets: Candles / Ginchiyo's Testimony / Piece of Black Tape / Curtis' Testimony / Signs of Struggle (?)_

* * *

SAITOU: I was there in my room, getting ready to sleep...

SAITOU: ...when I heard a knock on the door. **Ogata-kun was the one visiting me.**

SAITOU: I invited her in, and asked what the matter was.

SAITOU: Then **she grabbed the black switchblade** and _**attacked**_ me!

HIKASA: Just like that, Ogata-kun?"-

OGATA: There are no limits to my evil. That was sarcasm, by the way

SAITOU: **I grabbed the white switchblade** and _ **defended**_ myself

SAITOU: But she was way too fast!

SAITOU: She hit me, and I fell. Soon it was over for me

YUKIO: That's quite the testimony. What do you have to say, Ogata-kun?

* * *

-"Only four words: You got that wrong!"-

-"What exactly was wrong?"- Toyogushi leaned on his podium, fidgeting. He was really aching to get out of there.

-"I didn't go to Saitou-san's bedroom at any point. I..."- Curtis interrupted in that moment.

-"We can't rely only on your words, Ogata-kun. Don't you have something more conclusive?"-

-"I was about to say that I have something like an alibi"- Akane said flatly. Saitou was surprised.

-"No, you don't"- he said

-"Ginchiyo-san, can you please tell everybody about what you did?"-

Ginchiyo complied. The Graduates listened go Ginchiyo's story about the strings, and added that the string on Akane's doorway was still intact.

-"She could have tied it again. That is what I'd have done"- Chiba pointed reasonably.

-"No, I'm sure it was never touched. It was exactly in the same place and position where I had left it. Besides, there is no way she could have known what it was for"- Ginchiyo replied. Chiba was skeptic about how effective the strings were.

-"I insist: it would be easy to tie it back. This alibi, as she had called it, is flimsy at best. Got anything better, Ogata?"-

Akane gritted her teeth. She didn't have anything more solid. She had kind of hope that it would have been enough to get people off her at least for a moment, but Chiba had destroyed that hope. She now had to find some other way to get out of the hot water.

-"Despite her lack of alibi, I'm still not entirely convinced that Ogata-kun is the culprit"- Toyogushi said, jumping on one foot –"Saitou-kun, can you tell us more about the attack?"-

Saitou mumbled under his breath, and then he talked aloud –"If it is needed, then yes, sure. But what, exactly?"-

-"Maybe you could mention something about the moment of your death. Go into more detail"- Kudo suggested. Saitou nodded.

** Nonstop Debate **

_Bullets: Bedroom Map / Monobear File #1 / Piece of Black Tape / Black King Stone Switchblade / Desk Drawers Content_

* * *

SAITOU: Ogata-kun started her savage attack **knocking off my switchblade**

YUKIO: That must be when it rolled under the bed!

SAITOU: I panicked, and tried to run away, but she pursued me!

SAITOU: **I was about to reach the door** when I felt a terrible pain

SAITOU: I had turned my head around, and **she hit me on the front** , and I fell

SAITOU: Ogata-kun didn't hesitate in finishing the deed, and then…

SAITOU: …I was dead…

YAMAGUCHI: I get beejeebies just from listening to him!

YAMAGUCHI: Must have been a really horrible death…

KUDO: Still lacking in detail, Saitou-kun.

SAITOU: I died, Kudo-san! It is a terrible thing to remember

* * *

Akane cleared her throat. Saitou somehow had managed to make a mistake, and it is one she didn't really understand.

-"Saitou-san, remember the bedroom map? Take a look at it"- she extended it in the air. –"See the big lump near this wall? That is where you were found. And see that rectangle, all the way to the other side of the bedroom? That's the door"- she folded the map back –"How does that work?"-

-"His body was dragged all the way to the opposite wall. It is that simple"- Curtis pointed, and Saitou quickly agreed with him.

-"No, that isn't possible. I examined the room, and there are absolutely no traces of blood except where Saitou's body was found. He died there, or at a very close distance"- Matsukaze said, shaking his head. Curtis and Saitou shut up. –"Saitou-kun, are you completely sure about your words?"-

The channeled salesman squeezed Sawashiro's hands. –"I…I don't know. I think I'm still in shock"-

-"Snap out of it, then! This is a dangerous trial"- Curtis retorted.  
-"I'm trying! Don't yell at me!"-

-"And despite all, you haven't really shown anything good against Ogata-kun. That lab coat is the only tangible evidence"- Reiji said, in a bout of confidence. Saitou took offense to his words

-"I came back from the dead to tell you all who killed me, and I'm treated like I don't even know who killed me?! I retract everything I said about you people. You all are dumber than…than…something dumb"-

-"You're making it really hard to support the accusation"- Sakurai mumbled, looking to the floor. Saitou clenched his fist.

-"You want something more definite? Then alright! Ask me something, I'll try to answer it"-

-"I personally am curious to what happened after the murder. Can you talk about it?"- Kudo inquired.

-"Shut up and listen now. This will be the last effort I make to steer you all into the correct road"-

** Nonstop Debate **

_Bullets: Lab Coat / Curtis' Testimony / Burnt Handkerchief / Bathroom Doors Mechanism / Medium Session: Assistants_

* * *

SAITOU: My memory is a bit fuzzy at this point

SAITOU: But I remember **being hit several times**

SAITOU: Then I felt like **I was thrown something light on me**.

SAITOU: I can't remember anything else

REIJI: Is that all? We're stuck. Yukio, any ideas?

GINCHIYO: Take a look at the evidence; we should be able to think something

CHIBA: _**The culprit ran away instantly**_. Going away is vital to the success of the murder

MIYATA: _**Tampering with the crime scene**_ seems better to me

HIKASA: Or maybe _ **tampering with the proof itself**_ …

CHIBA: Or the culprit _**started to frame somebody**_.

GINCHIYO: There are too many possibilities!

* * *

_It is true there are a lot of possibilities, but there is one that is already confirmed…by this evidence!_

-"I agree, Hikasa-san! The culprit tampered with the evidence after the murder"-

-"I was right? Awesome!"- Hikasa was overjoyed to hear that he did it right, even if it may have been just luck.

-"This handkerchief is one of the evidence that was tampered"- she showed it to everybody.

-"Is that really a handkerchief? It is almost crumbling into ashes!"- Yamaguchi leaned, to see better the object.

-"Yes. The culprit used this to clean the weapon of the crime, that black king chess piece, and possible to clean any other blood on his/her body, or who knows what else. Then they tried to destroy it"-

-"With fire, I suppose. From the kitchen oven"- the Fashion Designer guessed

-"It was actually done with this:"-

* * *

Monobear File #1  
Signs of a Struggle (?)  
Lab Coat  
Curtis' Testimony  
Desk Drawers Content  
Saitou's ID  
White Stone King Switchblade  
Bathroom Doors Mechanism  
Ginchiyo's Testimony  
Piece of Black Tape  
Black Stone King Switchblade  
Medium Session: Lines Received  
Medium Session: Assistants  
Medium Session: Preparations  
Candles  
Burnt Handkerchief  
Sleeping Bag  
Bedroom Map

* * *

**Candles**

* * *

-"These candles were used last night, in the medium session. They were left there, nobody bothered to organize the cafeteria after that night. The culprit must have used them to singe the handkerchief until it was unrecognizable"-

-"Then it could have been avoided if the candles had been picked up. Let that be a lesso to pick up after yourselves, troop"- Chiba said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

-"I'm sure the culprit wouldn't have stopped there. The kitchen burners would have done the same"- Matsukaze pointed.

-"Leaving the evidence tampering aside, I think we can all see that Saitou got his head bashed so hard that the trauma lasted beyond death. I don't think his words are reliable'- Kudo said. Saitou choked, enraged, but he was interrupted by Yamaguchi.

-"So now what? If Ogata-kun didn't do it, then who is the culprit?"-

-"B-But she was the one to-to do it. Why are none of you voting her in this instant?! Are you all this useless?"- Saitou screamed.

-"Shut up now!"- Sakurai couldn't avoid saying. Judging by the looks on everybody's faces, that was what everybody wanted to say. Saitou didn't shut up, though. He gripped Sawashiro's robe, and kept shouting.

-"No, I won't shut up! I was summoned to tell you all who killed me, and you all ignore it! Who cares if I was inconsistent. I'm the fucking victim. I was there when I died. And that woman is the one who killed me!"-

-"Enough"- Chiba said sternly. Something in her voice convinced Saitou to shut up. -"It's our lives what's in danger here. I'll admit that the inconsistencies is what makes me doubt that Ogata-kun is the culprit, despite everything you say. And I won't be satisfied until I can vote without feeling there is something I'm missing"-

Saitou breathed heavily, Sawashiro's face contorted in a look of disbelief, but he didn't reply.

-"Let's leave Ogata-kun alone for now. Leaving her aside who could be the culprit?"- Matsukaze said slowly.

-"I think that Ginchiyo's strings antics could be a good clue. It gives us several names to analyze"- Akane said reflexively. She mentally started remembering every piece of evidence that had been found until that moment.

-"Really?"- Ginchiyo was ecstatic, as if she were the key to solve the case

-"So the suspects are Sawashiro-kun, Kudo-kun, Matsukaze-san and Yamaguchi-kun"- Hikasa remembered -"We have a small group of suspect already, but it shouldn't be long until we discard three of them!"-

-"Wait...no. I just realized there is a simple explanation for the missing strings. Ginchiyo's testimony means nothing now"- Akane said, after remembering something.

**DECIDE YOURSELF**

Akane looked at the person that had shouted at hef. Hikasa had a fierce look in his face, far from the gentle expressions she had seen so far.

-"You bring this in the first place, and then decide it is worthless?"-

-"It's that there is a way to..."- Hikasa interrupted her.

-"No! This is the best lead we have so far, and I don't think we'll let it go easily!"-

* * *

** Rebuttal Showdown **

_Swords: Desk Drawers Content / Medium Session: Assistants / Burnt Handkerchief / Piece of Black Tape / Medium Session: Preparations_

* * *

HIKASA: Ginchiyo's work with the strings is clear

Four students were out of their rooms!

Any of them could have visited Saitou-kun

There is no evidence pointing to anybody

Are you really going to dismiss the strings?

Do you want to have fifteen suspects again?

OGATA: It would be nice, but...

...the truth is that the happenings of that night...

...invalidates Ginchiyo's suspects list!

HIKASA: There you go again, dismissing it!

 **There was no reason for all of them to be out** of their rooms.

**All of them had the opportunity to visit Saitou**

And **none of them have alibis.**

You have to see **this is our only lead** , Ogata-kun!

* * *

-"Sorry Hikasa-san, but there is a possible explanation for that"-

-"Then go ahead, explain it. I'm thick-headed, so you better make it crystal clear"-

-"In that night, around ten o' clock, there was a medium session. And all of those who were marked as suspects, with the exception of the victim, were present in that session!"-

-"Eh?"- Hikasa motioned for Akane to continue.

-"After it ended, I went straight to my room, and stayed there for the rest of the night. But nothing hints that the rest went to their rooms instantly as well"-

-"So you're saying that they returned to the room after the session, and after Ginchiyo put the strings?"-

-"That's exactly what I think happened!"- Akane said confidently.

Ginchiyo shook her head. -"You realize that if any of them is the culprit, you just gave that person a excuse?"-

-"All of you, please say what you did after the medium session"- Akane asked.

-"Well, I went to the lounge, Sakurai came later, and we stayed there for like an hour or so"- Matsukaze said. Sakurai nodded -"When I returned to my room I saw the string before entering, got rid of it, fell asleep and didn't come out until the morning

-"I did the same than him"- Sakurai said as well.

-"I spent time in the laundry room, reading something while I waited for my clothes to be done"- Yamaguchi informed.

-"I wasn't sleepy yet, so I walked around the shelter leisurely. Then around 11:00 PM, I stayed in the bedrooms hall for a good while"- Kudo said, shrugging.

-"Oh, that is true. When I went to my room, he was there"- Yamaguchi said. Matsukaze raised an eyebrow.

-"Why are you saying that now, Kudo? Why not before?"-

-"I didn't think it was important"-

-"And who passed through there while you were there?"- he questioned. Kudo thought for a moment.

-"Just Yamaguchi-kun. Nobody else came out of their rooms while I was there, and I stayed there for like half an hour, just thinking to myself"-

-"Matsukaze-san and I returned to our room earlier than 11:00 PM, so no wonder we didn't see Kudo-san"- Sakurai said, relaxed. Matsukaze reflected on the new testimony, and suddenly hit his fist on the podium.

-"I have solved it! I know who murdered Saitou!"-

Everybody reacted strongly. Several instantly asked him who killed the Salesman. The Detective laughed loudly. -"What, wanting the answer? Come on, try to make an effort yourselves. I know I'm right, no chance I'm wrong. But you can't rely on me to solve everything. What if I die, somehow? I want to see that at least one of you can solve a murder"-

-"That's being an idiot, pompous asshole. Stop being so full of yourself and say it now"- Miyata said, irritated. Matsukaze just made a gesture.

-"I'm a side character. Now, who wants to take a step ahead and be the main character of our story?"- he said, jolly.

Nobody stepped ahead, besides Saitou coming ahead and screaming once again 'It was Ogata-kun!", which only earned a roll of eyes coming from the Detective. It was obvious that nobody had a concrete suspect in mind. Matsukaze once again laughed.

-"That's disappointing. I'm going to be a good person, and give you all a clue: the murder happened at 11:00 PM. Kudo stayed in the bedroom hall for a good while, yet he saw nobody. I doubt the killer would spend more than five minutes after killing Saitou. Is that enough for all of you?"-

Once again everybody started to think. _The culprit didn't go through the hall...Kudo was there, it is to be expected he would see anybody. But then..._

Akane gasped loudly. -"I know it too! Of course!"-

-"Oh, Ogata-kun. Let's see if your deduction is correct. Make an accusation and explain the reason behind your accusation"- Matsukaze said. His eyes were shining. Akane didn't waste time.

-"The culprit had to get out of Saitou-san's room, but Kudo-san didn't see anybody. Would the culprit stay in the room with the dead body for half an hour or more? I really doubt it. But how would the culprit get out of Saitou's bedroom without being seen?

We all know that in each bedroom there are two doors. The main entrance to the room, and _the door to the shared bathroom_. If the culprit didn't cross the main door, then the only way to escape would be through the bathroom.

And who does the room at the other side of the bathroom belong to? It's the culprit's own bedroom."-

-"Wait, are you really...?"- Miyata started saying, but didn't complete the phrase. He knew who exactly was Akane accusing, but he chose to stay silent, to see what she would say.

-"Yes, Miyata-kun. The killer's own behavior in this trial is also a dead giveaway. Now, that's the culprit of this case!"- The Chemist pointed at Saitou.

-"Uh, what? Saitou-kun? Are you saying he suicided?"- Kudo said, with obvious doubts. Akane rolled her eyes.

-"Of course not. Besides, Saitou-kun, not even his body or his soul, has ever stepped in this courtroom. Saitou wasn't even summoned, in the first place.

The culprit who killed the Salesman is none other than Aya Sawashiro!"-


	8. Chapter 1: It's Like Losing a Limb to Despair - Trial III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A note: I think it's worth noting that the lines in the Panic Talk Battle are basically the line that crash against the screen, hurting the player.
> 
> Just saying

* * *

-"T-T-Tha-T-T-That's the most ridiculous..."- Saitou choked in his own words. He was fiercely trying to deny Akane's accusation, but Sawashiro had turned really pale.

-"Saitou-kun was never summoned. All this time Sawashiro-san has been pretending to be Saitou"-

-"So Sawashiro-kun is just one huge faker?"- Hikasa said, trying to process the scene.

-"No, I'm sure that she does have medium abilities. She didn't get accepted into Hope's Peak for nothing. What I'm saying is that she pretended to have channeled Saitou-kun so she could blame me for the murder"- Akane clarified

-"Well done, Ogata-kun. You hit the bullseye. Sawashiro-kun is the murderer"- Matsukaze said, clapping -"But we can't just stop here. We found the culprit; now let's clear the murder itself"-

-"No! First I want to make sure that the person here is Saitou-kun or Sawashiro-kun, whoever it is. There must be something Saitou-kun, and only Saitou-kun, can answer or do"- Kudo requested

-"Sure, let's do that. Any ideas?"-

-"We need something that we can all verify easily right here"- Curtis pointed

Akane said softly: -"Maybe this'll work...let's ask Saitou-kun..."-

* * *

_...about his life outside of the shelter_

_...about how to use the switchblades_

_...about the evidence in the trash compactor_

_...about the predictions in the medium session_

* * *

**_...about how to use the switchblades_ **

* * *

-"How many in here know how to use the switchblades inside these chess pieces?"- Akane asked. Only Toriumi raised her hand -"Besides Toriumi-san, Saitou-kun should know as well. Let's pass one to him and see what he does"-

The Graduate who had the white king chess piece passed it to Saitou-kun, who grasped it doubtfully. He nervously looked around. Everybody had their eyes on him. He started twisting random parts of the chess piece, banged it agains the podium, and uncautiously looked directly on the blade slot, but he never twisted the cross at the top.

After a minute, it was clear that Sawashiro had no idea how to do it -"...it was true. God, it was true!"- Ginchiyo shouted. The defeated medium sighed.

-"Don't get the wrong idea. Saitou-san's soul left in his own volition"-

-"There's no way we're going to fall for that"- Miyata spat, with noticeable hate. Sawashiro looked at him directly for the eyes, for the first time Akane had seen her to do that, and said in the calmest voice possible:

-"Did I miss anything while I was gone, Miyata-kun?"-

Even Akane had to admit that Sawashiro needed a lot of guts to do it.

-"Did you kill Saitou, Sawashiro?"- Toriumi asked, crossing her arms.

-"No, and there is nothing indicating I did"- the medium replied. Miyata cleared his throat.

-"I'm afraid she is right, Matsukaze-san, Ogata-san. You all should know that the bathroom locks has a mechanism that would mean Sawashiro-san would be unable to go to her room through there. I do think she lied and pretended to be Saitou-san, but until anyone can show me a way, she's innocent to my eyes"-

-"How many times do I have to say this? I didn't pretend anything. I just came back from a trance. I summoned Saitou-san's soul!"-

-"This is getting embarrassing. Isn't there something that can shut her up now?"- Kudo groaned, holding his head. Akane took it on her hands to show the medium how she was wrong.

-"Sawashiro-san, you do have powers, but don't they need something so they're at full potential? I'm talking about this:"-

* * *

Monobear File #1

Signs of a Struggle (?)

Lab Coat

Curtis' Testimony

Desk Drawers Content

Saitou's ID

White Stone King Switchblade

Bathroom Doors Mechanism

Ginchiyo's Testimony

Piece of Black Tape

Black Stone King Switchblade

Medium Session: Lines Received

Medium Session: Assistants

Medium Session: Preparations

Candles

Burnt Handkerchief

Sleeping Bag

Bedroom Map

* * *

**Medium Session: Preparations**

* * *

-"Yesterday, before the session started, you said:

* * *

_Sit outside that circle, and be quiet. I need absolute silence. This is how I'll proceed: due to the limited quality of the setting around us, I'll have a very limited time to contact the spirits from beyond_

* * *

They were pretty complex preparations, yet you remarked it was of limited quality. If after all the work we did, you weren't satisfied (and I suppose your powers would be weaker), how are we expecting to believe that you brought a spirit here with absolutely no preparation beforehand?"-

Sawashiro took a moment before replying. -"I'm just that good!"- She said, sweating. Yukio scoffed.

-"Ogata-kun has an excellent point. I remember earlier you said:

* * *

_I-I'm not a sham…but I need preparation, Matsukaze-san. Mystical signs and all, like we did last night. Letting a dead possess me isn't easy_

* * *

Did your medium rules change in middle of the trial? That's awfully convenient"-

Sawashiro was breathing heavily. She was more nervous by the minute. The Chemist continued, unforgiving. -"Want me to relate everything you did last night, Sawashiro-san? Because I gladly will"- The medium didn't reply, she seemed about to cry.

-"I won't accept that! How...how did I get back to my room? Miyata-kun just mentioned those bathroom locks. There's no way for me to bypass them! I stayed in my room the whole night, I did, I did, I did, I did!"- she wailed, trying her hardest to not o start crying. Akane was feeling bad for the lady, but if they didn't label her as guilty, it would mean everybody else would die. And she definitely didn't think that fifteen lives were worth saving Sawashiro's life.

-"There's a way, Sawashiro-san. And you found it. I found something that hints it"-

-"I-I said there isn't any way. There's not, there's not, there's not, there's not!"- she continued, covering her ears with her hands. Akane took a deep breath. It was clear that Sawashiro-san wouldn't listen to logic, at least at first. The Chemist braced herself to what expected to be a continuous effort to make Sawashiro listen to her.

**Panic Talk Battle: Aya Sawashiro**

* * *

Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!

Why can't you leave me alone?!

It's impossible, I tell you!

Continue and I'll curse you!

It's all a coincidence!

I was in my room all the time

Are you happy now?!

Listen to me!

I didn't do anything

No, no, no, no!

**Those bathroom locks...there's no way to bypass them!**

_Piece of Black Tape_

* * *

Sawashiro screamed in anguish once Akane muttered those four words.

-"Sawashiro-san, during the investigation, we found a piece of black tape in the bathroom trash can. Using that single piece, bypassing the locks is very easy"-

-"That's...an impressive deduction, Ogata-kun. How exactly do you do that?"- Toriumi asked, obviously pushing the Chemist to continue.

-"If you put this over the hole where the lock latch would fit, then, even if the automatic system tries to lock the door, it'll be impossible for it to be fully closed. The normal doorknob latch would still close the door, but simply turning the doorknob would be enough to open it.

Now, imagine you're in Saitou-san's room, and you know that he bathroom locks are a problem. Once you finish the deed, you enter the bathroom, using Saitou-san's ID. The lock system normally would close the door that leads to Sawashiro's bedroom, but with this tape in place, all she would need to do to enter her room through the bathroom would be turning the knob. It wouldn't be locked. So, Sawashiro-san, am I mistaken?"-

Sawashiro didn't reply. Instead, she finally let go all the tears she had gathered during the accusation. Parts of her robe slowly became stained by her tears. She weeped, then spoke as clearly as she could.

-"Saitou-san...Ogata-kun, know that you were right. He...he did try to kill me"- she said, scowling. A few Graduates were surprised to hear that, but the rest didn't show any surprise.

-"So I was right after all, he did try to kill the culprit"-

-"Yes...he was going to go to my room to kill me that night. That is what he was going to do. Let me explain, please..."-

-"Are we really going to listen to her? She confessed. We could go to the voting now and finish this trial"- Sakurai said impatiently.

-"There's no harm on listening, Sakurai-san. Alright, Sawashiro-san. Tell us what happened"- Akane said, trying to calm the medium. When Sawashiro finally was in condition to speak, she started.

** Nonstop Debate **

_Bullets: Signs of a Struggle (?) / Piece of Black Tape / Monobear File #1 / Sleeping Bag / Bedroom Map_

* * *

SAWASHIRO: Saitou-san **was going to kill me in my room** that night

SAWASHIRO: He had visited me earlier, saying he wanted to talk.

SAWASHIRO: He had that sleeping bag with him.

SAWASHIRO: When I was distracted, he hid the bag and **put the tape to bypass the lock**

SAWASHIRO: I saw the tape and the bag much later, after he had left

SAWASHIRO: I had a bad feeling when I found it...and I went to confront him

SAWASHIRO: When he opened, he was putting on that lab coat...

SAWASHIRO: And then...and then...

YUKIO: She doesn't look in condition to continue. That's enough.

YUKIO: So Saitou-san had the weapon: **one of the switchblades**

GINCHIYO: He also had something to keep him from staining: **the lab coat**

MATSUKAZE: So Saitou-kun planned to kill Sawashiro-kun **and leave the body there**?

MATSUKAZE: That could have brought suspicion on him, due to the shared bathrooms and all

YAMAGUCHI: You really went through something horrible, Sawashiro-kun...

* * *

-"No Matsukaze-san...I don't think he really planned to leave the body in Sawashiro-san's bedroom. He visited Sawashiro-san and had brought with him that sleeping bag. He hid it somewhere, and Sawashiro found it later. If I had to guess, after Saitou-san killed her, he would have stuffed her body into the sleeping bag and moved her to another location"-

-"That actually sounds possible!"- Yamaguchi said –"I was actually wondering why it was in the trash compactor

-"I kind of panicked…I just wanted to get rid of anything that could hint towards Saitou-san"- Sawashiro muttered.

-"None of us could have known it was his sleeping bag"- Hikasa pointed. The Medium just frowned more.

-"I wasn't thinking straight, okay?"-

-"I think it's time for us to conclude this trial. We know what happened, don't we? Saitou-san was going to kill Sawashiro-san that night"- Yukio was smiling, full of relief. Akane was about to give a full synopsis of the events of the night, when a voice echoed through the court room.

**I'M NOT ENTIRELY CONVINCED**

Some of the Graduates groaned, as they thought they finally could put an end to the trial. Those who were more patients simply looked at the one who had spoken, as if they were asking for an explanation.

Toyogushi spit his chewing gum. –"I don't really think that Saitou-kun was planning to do anything. I don't doubt Sawashiro-kun killed him, but I don't remember anything that shows the Salesman was going to murder"-

-"Asshole! It's all clear now! How can you doubt it?"- Miyata shouted. The Stuntsman didn't reply. He just calmly stared at Miyata.

-"I already explained what happened"- Sawashiro said, drying her tears.

-"Lies created by scum"- was Toyogushi's response. The Medium bit her lip.

-"B-But what about the black tape? Saitou-san had a roll of black tape in his desk drawer. I'd bet my career that it's the same tape that was used on the bathroom lock!"- Yukio stammered, while looking like he was trying to be patient.

-"That lady could have put it in there"- was all that Toyogushi said.

-"But if she did, she could have used those newspapers to clean the evidence instead of using her handkerchief!"- Toruimi said. The Stuntsman continued unfazed.

-"She herself said she wasn't thinking straight. That should explain why she didn't use the newspapers. I won't believe that Saitou-kun was going to kill, unless there is something undeniable that points at his schemes."-

-"Will somebody knock some sense into this idiot's head?"- Miyata said, clenching his fists. Akane sighed.

-"I will. Toyogushi-san, please listen to me. I think I got what you look for"-

** Rebuttal Showdown **

_Swords: White Stone King Switchblade / Saitou's ID / Black Stone King Switchblade / Curtis' Testimony / Burnt Handkerchief_

* * *

TOYOGUSHI: Saitou-kun isn't a killer

Sawashiro-kun went to his room and murdered him

The Salesman didn't do anything to deserve that

Nothing I have heard so far is completely conclusive

Frankly, I think it's impossible to have something…

…that shows beyond any doubt that Saitou-kun…

…was being as bad as you're saying he was

OGATA: What if I say that there's something…

…related to the preparations Saitou-san had done…

…to kill Sawashiro-san?

TOYOGUSHI: Something conclusive?

Be my guest, convince me. There's no…

… **preparation that Sawashiro-kun couldn't have tampered**

Weapons?

The crime scene?

The body?

No matter what you name, Sawashiro-kun could have touched it

* * *

-"Now that's where you're wrong! There's something, and I mentioned it earlier"- Akane said, triumphantly. Toyogushi crossed his arms. The Chemist continued. –"Near the beginning of the trial, I said something about my lab coat, and asked who here knew how it had appeared in the crime scene"-

-"I see where you're going"- Curtis quickly caught up –"Toyogushi-san, the night of the murder I saw Saitou-kun coming out of the laundry room. He had a lab coat with him, surely the same lab coat that was found on his lap. After hearing everything else that has been said in this trial, I can't think of an innocent reason for him to have taken that lab coat"-

Toyogushi didn't reply, but he thought for a moment. Finally, he uncrossed his arms. –"I can't think of an innocent reason either. Okay, I accept it. Saitou-kun was going to murder somebody"- The Stuntsman had hints of a deep sadness in his voice. Akane wondered if he and the Salesman bonded at some point and she didn't notice.

-"That's it. We solved the case!"- Hikasa celebrated. Akane smiled, and got ready to say everything that had happened that night.

** Climax Logic  **

* * *

_The events that led to Saitou's death started at some point during the day. Saitou visited the culprit. He had brought the sleeping bag, and a piece of black tape somehow concealed. The Salesman managed to distract the culprit with enough time to hide the sleeping bag and put the tape on the lock. Once the preparations on the Medium's room were complete, Saitou left the bedroom._

_Later, he went to the Laundry Room, and stole one of Ogata's lab coats. When he was leaving the place, Curtis saw him, and noticed the lab coat._

_A few minutes before the time of the murder, the culprit noticed the tape on the bathroom lock. She suspected foul play, and went to confront Saitou. He let her enter the bedroom, where Saitou was already wearing the lab coat. Surely he was going to kill the culprit around that time, if she hadn't come to his bedroom._

_At some point, Saitou grabbed the white stone king, and attacked. It's possible he had removed the lab coat, as it was found on his lap and with only droplets of blood. The murderer counterattacked, using the black stone king, and managed to knock Saitou's weapon off his hands, and then hit Saitou on the head. Saitou fell, and the culprit, panicking, hit him three more times. The Salesman died._

_Now it was matter of getting out. The murderer, perhaps fearing to stumble upon somebody in the hall, decided to use Saitou's own trick to her advantage. A lucky decision, as Kudo was outside in the hall. The Medium used Saitou's ID to open the bathroom door, and surely discarded it, letting it fall in the spot where we found it._

_The murderer took with her the black stone king, which was the crime weapon. She entered the bathroom, and opened the door that led to her own bedroom. Saitou's trick had worked. She closed Saitou's bathroom door, and tear off the black tape off her lock, throwing it into the trash can._

_After she was in her bedroom, she found the sleeping bag Saitou hid. She cleaned the black stone king with her own handkerchief, and put it inside the sleeping back._

_At some point, the culprit sneaked out her bedroom, and went to get rid of the evidence. She stumbled upon the cafeteria and the candles that had been left there earlier, and had the idea to burn her handkerchief. She gathered and lit the candles, and let the flames do their job. The handkerchief didn't completely burn, but it was now unrecognizable._

_The Medium entered the Trash Room, with the evidence inside the sleeping bag. She threw everything inside the compactor, and turned it on. Soon the compactor meshed everything together, along with other garbage already inside the machine. The culprit left the Trash Room, and surely retreated to her room, thinking that she had done a seamless job._

_Maybe if it wasn't for Kudo's inopportune moment in the hall, somebody else would have been suspicious. We'll never really know for sure, but what's sure is that there's no mistake on who is our culprit._

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Sawashiro-Caught-1.jpg.html)

_Did I miss anything, Aya Sawashiro?_

* * *

Sawashiro shaked her head, and nervously grabbed her braids. –"That was pretty accurate, Ogata-kun. Nothing left to say"-

Everybody stayed silent for a minute, not knowing what to say. Finally Monobear interrupted the silence. –"Have we reached a consensus? It's time for voting, then! Use the buttons in front of you to vote, and remember that it is obligatory. Abstaining from voting will earn you a severe punishment.

Will you be right? Will you be wrong? Let's find out!"-

Akane pushed the buttons in her podium until a name flashed on a small screen on it. _Aya Sawashiro._

After all votes were tallied, an odd contraption appeared. It resembled a slots machine, with drawings of the graduates. Soon the machine stopped, showing three times Sawashiro's face. The slot machine glowed, and proclaimed in big red letters 'GUILTY'

Monobear clapped excitedly. –"This was a great beginning for our Graduates Meeting of Mutual Killing! Despite her efforts, and one gutsy faux-channeling that at least made the trial more interesting for me, you guys guessed the culprit correctly! The Medium cracked the Salesman's head with a stone chess piece!"-

Yamaguchi had started crying, and several others looked worn out or depressed. Sawashiro didn't say a word, either. Monobear continued talking. –"Come on, guys. Show more emotion! Seeing how this failure of a murderer already talked way too much about her crime, then tt's time for the central point of our trial! Time for the execution!"-

The word 'execution' made Akane feel horrible. Now Sawashiro was going to die. The Chemist knew that Sawashiro wasn't really a bad person. She had truly defended herself, to save her own life, and now her efforts had been in vain. The Medium took an opportunity to say a few last words.

-"Friends…I know that everything will be okay. I'll die, but it isn't bad. There's really something beyond this life, but I won't go there yet. First I'll stay with you all. Even if you can't see me, or talk to me or anything, I'll be at your side. I know that the horrible fiend behind this all will get his own punishment. Keep fighting, please"-

-"Enough of the sappy talk. Everybody grip your podiums, because it's time of the execution!"-

Monobear twirled his gavel in his paws, and slammed it into a big button that had emerged in front of his throne. The screen of the slot machine shone a new message. 'The culprit has been found guilty. Now starting execution"

The floor in the center of the courtroom opened, and a chain emerged from it. The clamp at the end grasped Sawashiro's neck, which trashed, trying to get rid of it. Despite her speech, it was still obvious that she was afraid of dying. The chain pulled Sawashiro violently, until she fell down the hole in the floor. As soon as she entered, the floor closed. Less than a minute later, everybody got their attention on a TV screen that had emerged from one of the walls.

* * *

**_Seánce_ **

* * *

Sawashiro was clamped to a steel structure, forcing her to adopt a lotus position. The room around her was illuminated dimly, the only source of light being candles strewn around. The room was decorated like an old living room.

Sawashiro was sweating, looking around the best she could. The dim illumination was eerie, and the fear in the Medium's eyes unnerved the spectators. They all waited to see what would happen now.

A large trapdoor opened, a few feet in front of Sawashiro. A fierce orange glow emanated from the pit, there was fire at the bottom. Akane couldn't avoid thinking how it reminded her of hell. Sawashiro eyed the hole, terrified, as a long black clawed arm and hand emerged and grasped her leg.

In that moment, the clamps that held her to the structure opened, and she was able to move freely. She tried to remove the hand, but five more emerged. The hands grasped the Medium, while she fought to get away from the hole. It was useless, as slowly the hands dragged her until she was very close to the edge of the hole.

Akane closed her eyes, not wanting to see. Somehow the camera positioned itself over the hole, and it was confirmed, there was fire in the bottom of the deep hole and the hands did emerge from it.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Sawashiro-Dead-1.jpg.html)

No matter how much Sawashiro struggled, the hands won. With a final pull, Sawashiro was dragged into the hole, and down to the fire, the hands always grasping her. The trapdoor mercifully closed before anybody could see the Medium getting to the bottom, or burning by the flames.

The screen now only had the room, as if nothing had happened in there. Still dimly illuminated, and with the same decoration, just that now the Medium was now being roasted somewhere below it all. Monobear entered the room, and extinguished the candles.

* * *

-"Yaaahoooo! Oh, this was definitely my favorite execution to organize. I can't wait to try others in the future!"- Monobear was dancing excitedly on his throne. The Graduates were pale, some scowling, others with looks of terror on their faces.

-"What…what the hell was that?!"- Matsukaze shouted, furious.

-"She is burning! It's an horrible death, being burned alive!"- Sakurai shrieked.

-"How can you be so cruel?!"- Yamaguchi almost threw herself over the bear, but Matsukaze held her. Monobear was amused at how the Fashion Designer had almost attacked him.

-"Upupu, it's what she deserved. Let that be an incentive for future murderers: don't get caught, because you never know how you'll be executed!"-

The bear left the courtroom, laughing. Nobody had the strength to leave the courtroom in that moment; they all tried to comfort each other, with very little success.

Akane was one of the last to leave the courtroom. She went straight to her room, and lay on her bed. She was going through an experience nobody should go through. She thought about the teenagers that had been part of the School Life of Mutual Killing. Did they feel the same than her after their trials? This mix of depression, rage and despair?

Akane struggled to sleep. It was almost 6:00 PM, but she didn't want to go out. The only thing she wanted was to sleep, and forget that she could possibly die.

**Chapter 1: It's Like Losing a Limb to Despair**

**END**


	9. Chapter 2 - Wolves Among Sheep (Ab)normal Days I

**Chapter 2: Wolves Among Sheep**

Akane slept soundly until somebody started knocking at her door. Whoever was out there was doing a lot of noise. Akane stretched and opened the door. A panicky Yamaguchi was waiting there. She let out a sigh of relief once the Chemist opened the door.

-"Ogata-kun, you're okay! I was about to get help"-

-"Why wouldn't I be okay?"-

-"We're all nervous due to Saitou and Sawashiro's murder attempt-slash-actual murder. I was afraid to find you dead here in your bedroom. We all were worried"-

-"Worried? But I haven't even talked to anybody yet!"-

Yamaguchi waved her finger –"Precisely, Ogata-kun. You once again missed breakfast. Did you oversleep again?"-

Akane resisted the impulse to hit her head against the doorframe. –"Let's not start with that again. I was…worn out due to the trial. That is all"-

The Fashion Designer smiled, understanding. –"I missed breakfast too. We both are in the same boat. But enough talking, take this apple, sorry if it is starting to rot, and follow me. Something new happened, and we need your collaboration!"-

Akane rudely closed the door of her bedroom, and muttered 'I'll be out in ten minutes'. When she was ready, and judged that Yamaguchi wasn't waiting for her in the hall, she walked to the cafeteria, munching on the apple. She once again found her breakfast wrapped on tin foil. She was eating when Toyogushi entered.

-"There you are! We have been waiting for you. Come quick!"- The Stuntsman didn't leave. He glared at Akane until the Chemist decided she had made all wait enough.

-"Can somebody explain to me what's this new development?"- she asked, going along the Stuntsman towards the shutters that led to the red door. Akane expected to be taken towards the courtroom, but instead of entering through the red door, Toyogushi turned to the left and descended. –"Wait, wasn't there something blocking the path here?"- the Chemist asked, noticing the change.

-"Yep! There are new rooms to explore, and Chiba-kun insisted that we once again form groups. There they are"-

The rest of the Graduates were waiting in a small round lobby. Chiba glared at Akane, while she tried to explain why she was late.

-"…I also noticed that the ration was slightly larger than before"-

-"Now that Saitou-kun and Sawashiro-kun are dead, this means that there's more food now, but Chiba-san only have a bigger portion today because we did a good job in the trial. It's a onetime only treat"- Ginchiyo said.

-"Let's not focus on food, troop. There's a more pressing matter right now: we need to explore and assess everything we may find in the undiscovered terrain. Now I'll form the groups"- Chiba paired Akane with Kudo and Miyata. The CEO was glad to once again being part of the exploration team with Akane, but he didn't appreciate very much to have Kudo near. –"He's just a sappy goody-two-shoe"- he whispered to Akane before parting to explore. They had been assigned one of the tunnels that parted from the lobby.

-"It's soon to judge him like that"-

-"But really, what kind of sucky talent is 'philanthropist'? Since when being kind or helpful like he is gotten anybody far? The most I see him doing is building homes for the poor, and doing it for free"-

-"I'm right here, you know"- Kudo said nonchalantly. Miyata ignored him, and continued dissing Kudo. Soon they arrived to a pair of big wooden doors. The three of them pushed, trying to open it, until it finally happened. It was a library.

-"Awesome! Now there's something else to do besides staring at the wall"- Kudo excitedly grabbed one of the books and opened it in a random page. Miyata rolled his eyes, exasperated, and closed the book rudely.

-"We have stuff to do, dunce. Start being useful"-

Kudo gritted his teeth, but obeyed. The three started checking every inch of the library, including taking down the books from the shelves, trying to find any hidden passage or documents.

-"There isn't anything unusual here, it's just a library"- Akane said, putting back the last of the books back on the shelf.

-"Not everything was bad. I saw several good books in here. We could all start some sort of book club. I'm sure it could cheer up them!"- Kudo remarked, once again taking a book. This time Miyata had enough.

-"Can you stop being a useless imbecile?! Don't you see what our situation is?! We're fucking trapped in a shelter by a fucking bear, and you're treating this as if it were nothing"-

-"I know very well what the situation is. I saw Saitou-kun's body, and I took part of the trial, but I'm not going to let it all drag me down"-

-"Eh? Why not?"-

-"Because I'm around people. I live to help, that's my only goal in life. As long as there are people for me to help, then I'll be happy"- he said, looking at Miyata straight to the eyes. Akane was uncomfortable and nearing the library exit, but she was somewhat surprised at Kudo's attitude towards Miyata. The Philanthropist didn't seem to Akane like a person who would dare to talk back.

Miyata was less than impressed. –"Leave me alone"-. The three of them left the library, and walked towards the lobby of the new section of the shelter. Before they got too far, Akane noticed that Kudo took Miyata back into the library, and closed the door. She didn't pay much attention to it, and just continued ahead.

This time she had been the first one to return to report. She watched everybody else coming back, some more excited than others. Kudo and Miyata were the last ones to return. Miyata looked like he had been revealed the secrets of life, and now was looking at Kudo with admiration. Akane never thought she'd see Miyata with such an expression on her face.

-"Okay, are we all here now? Let's start with our reports"- Chiba pointed at Kudo.

-"There's a library, that way. It's filled with very interesting literature books; I'd say we'll all enjoy that place!"- He said. Some of the graduates looked cheered up at the perspective of having something to do. Chiba nodded, and Ginchiyo was the next to talk.

-"We finally opened that door in the kitchen, the one to the side of the pantry. It is a storage, but it has a second door, which is locked. The storage has a lot of stuff, but no food, unless you consider boxes and boxes of chewing gum as 'food'"-

-"I'm definitely taking some of that gum"- Toyogushi casually put what he pointed was his last piece of chewing gum into his mouth, and continued –"We found a garden"-

-"A garden? You mean, sun, water, and fresh air?"- Curtis asked, excited. Toyogushi shook his head.

-"It's underground. There seems to be a lot of plants that don't really need high maintenance, and the light is supplied through some potent lights. No idea about the watering mechanism"-

-"There's a whole room with lockers, most of them, broken, which seems odd to me. They don't fit into this place"- Toriumi said –"All of them are empty"-

-"These are some good finds, troop. Well done. Now it's my turn, but it'll be better if all of you follow me. It's…complicated"- Chiba started walking into one of the hallways, and led them to a big wooden door. To the side there was another shutter, leading deeper and downwards into the shelter, but that wasn't what Chiba wanted to show them. She opened the door.

It was a decorated room, with rugs, book shelves, a broken computer, a desk and one big chair. It also had another two doors.

-"…what's this place?"- Curtis walked towards the desk, and sat on the chair. He commented on how comfortable it was –"Wow, one feels powerful from behind this desk"-

-"It seems like an office to me. Got any idea of who's this office, Chiba-san?"- Yamaguchi said, trying to turn on the computer. The thing fizzled, and sparks flew from it.

-"This will explain who owns it"- Chiba walked towards one of the doors, and opened it. It was of the size of a closet, but it wasn't empty. Forming a pile, there were around twenty Monobears in there.

-"Hey! What're you all doing in my office?"- Monobear's voice sounded from the doorway. He looked at each graduate, who were asking for an explanation –"The Headmaster of Hope's Peak needs a room. Now everybody get out of here!"-

-"What's the problem? You never said anything about being unable to come here!"- Chiba pointed. Monobear wasn't taken aback. He instead inserted a claw into the computer tower and, much to people's amazement, it turned on. Everybody crowded around him while the bear typed some quick commands. The IDs beeped.

Akane took her own and read the update. "The Graduates are forbidden to enter the Headmaster's office without the Headmaster's permission"

-"And while we're at it, let me protect my presence in this place"- he said, while typing again. Once again the IDs beeped.

"Damaging any Monobear spare will count as attacking the Headmaster and will be punished accordingly"

-"There. Now you know the saying? The bear mauled the cat because the cat was too curious"-

-"That isn't even a real saying!"- Yamaguchi protested. Monobear laughed at her

-"Upupupu…it's more of a warning to you people! Enter here again without my authorization and you'll be the ones mauled!"-

-"Can we at least finish checking around? Just this once"- Matsukaze pleaded politely. Monobear considered it.

-"Okay, since you asked so nicely, you all may go ahead and knock yourselves snooping around here. But you better finish it in this moment, because it'll take a lot of convincing to enter again!"-

Despite Monobear's warnings, at least half of the graduates left the room, maybe fearing that they'd find something really compromising and Monobear would kill them for knowing too much. The rest, which were Akane, Chiba, Hikasa, Reiji, Yukio, Toyogushi, Sakurai and Matsukaze examined every inch of the office, looking for anything interesting. Besides the spare Monobears and the not-so-broken computer, there was only one unusual thing in the room. The other door had a pad to its side, a whole keyboard, where one could type three letters.

-"What's in here?"- Sakurai touched the pad lightly, ready to type.

-"Top secret"- was Monobear's reply.

-"You should get your hands out of there, Sakurai. It must be pretty important if there's a password to enter"- Hikasa pointed.

-"Why, what happens if one types the wrong password?"-

-"Do you really want to find out?"- Monobear leaned forwards, his voice filled with malice. Sakurai took the hands off the pad as if it were scalding.

-"N-N-No, I'm good. Welp, I'm outta here"- Sakurai practically ran out of the office. A while after that, Akane found something.

-"Keys! Lots of keys!"- she had opened the drawer of the desk. Inside it there was a ring filled with keys.

-"It must open most of the doors in the shelter"- Toyogushi said, examining the keys

-"That's right! They open any room except the shutters, the bedrooms and this office"- Monobear chimed in.

The Graduates passed each other the bunch of keys, trying to guess what key opened what door. It was fruitless, though. Soon the ring of keys was back into the drawer. They spent more time looking around the office, but there was nothing else to find. Monobear finally decided that they had enough time for investigating his office.

The rest of the graduates who had stayed continued investigating, but there was nothing else to note. Soon they all left the office, and Monobear closed and locked the door. The bear went and sat on his chair, and stretched. Those Graduates, always snooping around…not that they would have a chance to find out anything.

However, some sort of sixth sense bothered him. He snapped out of his satisfied thoughts, and opened the drawer. He took out the ring of keys and counted the keys. There was one missing now.

-"…Upupupu, I see…"-

-ooooo-

-"It's Monobear. Surely that password is related to him. He's one vain bear"-

Akane was discussing with Matsukaze the possibilities of the password of that door in Monobear's office, and what could be behind it. Akane was thinking that it was a way out, but Matsukaze was skeptical. He didn't think that Monobear would keep a way out in there, especially if somehow the graduates figured out the password.

-"But what could it be?"-

-"No idea. Besides, it won't matter. I'm very close to finding the Mastermind, Ogata-kun"- the Detective announced proudly, tipping his hat. Akane gasped.

-"Really? Who's it?"-

-"I have a few suspicions, but I'd rather to keep them for myself. I'll be able to name the Mastermind in max two days. See, it took me a week! I have a failsafe in case anything happens to me, don't worry"-

-"But who is it? Is it the SHSL Despair?"-

Matsukaze stayed silent for a moment. –"Let's say that…this may not be as simple as that. It's a theory, but I think there's more into this than what meets the eye"-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is a chapter for, eh, 'Free Time'. If you do have somebody who you want to see in more depth, then let me know. I have planned around three events for each character


	10. Chapter 2 - Wolves Among Sheep (Ab)normal Days II

Akane was starting to get bored. She wasn't used to have so much free time; there wasn't much to do besides investigating, and that wouldn't be bad if she knew where to start. She had tried to ask for Monobear's permission to enter again to his office, but the bear had stated that she would have to show him her worth by 'bringing her the heart of a graduate' before being able to enter just once. Then he laughed in her face. The Chemist had no idea if he was serious or not, but she definitely wasn't going to find out.

So she decided to go check some of the library books. At least there should be some books she would like. When she entered the library, she saw Ginchiyo busy with a few of those.

-"Hi there, miss Ogata"- she said, looking up and smiling.

-"Ginchiyo-san, what are you reading there?"- Akane asked, approaching. She saw the letters of the cover. _The Flight of the Red Crane_

-"Somebody made a novelization of my short movie. So far it's pretty accurate"- she replied.

-"I have never watched it…what is it about?"-

-"No spoilers! But basically it's a plebeian's quest to find her destiny in the world, so she starts by turning into a servant in a Chinese empire"-

Akane's attention was piqued. –"That sounds actually watchable. What inspired you to create that short film?"-

Ginchiyo put down the book. She mulled for a moment. –"It's…complicated. It was actually inspired…based on my sister. I'm not saying she went to China to be a servant, it's just that it's based on her, her personality and our relationship"-

-"It's very sweet of you to have based it on her! I bet she's proud"- Akane said, cheerily. Ginchiyo didn't reply. For a moment she seemed like she was going to cry and she pushed down the sunglasses so they covered her eyes. Akane noticed it. –"Is there something wrong, Ginchiyo-san?"-

Ginchiyo didn't reply. She took the book and went towards the door. Akane stood in front of it so the Film Maker wouldn't leave. –"I don't want to talk about it"-

-"What's the matter? Are you and your sister in bad terms or something?"-

-"I said I don't want to talk about it!"-

-"But what's wrong? Ginchiyo-san, you'll feel better if you tell me. Please, let it out"- Akane pleaded. It was glaringly obvious that Ginchiyo was in deep internal turmoil, and the Chemist wanted to help her to feel better. The Film Maker didn't move, though. She grasped the book tighter and started talking.

-"Shizuka…she was a good girl. She was a good girl, I tell you. It was my entire fault, Miss Ogata"-

-"What happened to Shizuka?"-

-"She was alone that day. If I hadn't done it, she would be fine"-

-"Did something happen to your sister?"-

-"She's dead, Miss Ogata. That happened"-

-"…oh"- Akane felt really awkward now. Ginchiyo was not crying, but Akane could feel an aura of sadness around her. It was matter of time before she started crying. Akane judged it was a good moment to let Ginchiyo leave the library, so she stepped far from the doorstep, but Ginchiyo didn't leave.

-"It's a long story, Miss Ogata. I don't feel capable of actually telling somebody about it"-

-"You don't have to do it. Let's do something else to steer you far from those memories"- Akane felt responsible for Ginchiyo's actual mood. If she hadn't insisted on digging deeper, she wouldn't have been forced to reveal that information.

-"Alright. Have I told you you're good looking, Miss Ogata? It's said that a good starting actress needs good looks and talent when starting. It's harsh, but it's the truth. Let me see if you can act!"- Ginchiyo seemed to have cheered up a little.

_Ginchiyo made me act some scenes of her movie_

-ooooo-

Akane got out of the library, leaving Ginchiyo once again reading the novelization. Their acting moments helped to cheer up the Film Maker, she didn't seem depressed anymore. However, at the end Ginchiyo had made a promise to Akane.

-"Thank you for everything, Miss Ogata. Maybe someday I'll be confident enough to tell you about…Shizuka. Someday, I promise it"-

The Chemist felt a little uncomfortable. She felt like she needed fresh air, but seeing how she was in an underground shelter under the city, it was impossible to go outside. She decided to go to the garden, it was the closest thing to the outside there was.

The way to the garden included a stairway, leading upstairs. At the end there was a round room, filled with lamps and hoses on the ceiling. There was one person examining the plants.

Sakurai was leaning towards one of those, with gardening shears. He carefully cut some parts of the plant.

-"There, it's now done"- he said aloud, and started to coo at the plant. Akane cleared her throat loudly, interrupting Sakurai. The young man saw Akane, and whimpered comically. –"How long have you been there?!"-

-"Long enough to see how you almost sing lullabies to a plant, Sakurai-kun"- Akane said, trying to tease the Good Luck graduate. Sakurai wasn't happy.

-"That's really rude, you know. It was supposed to be a private time between me and the plants!"-

-"I didn't think it'd bother you that much. I'm sorry"- she said truthfully. Sakurai took a deep breath and calmed down, and continued attending the plants, this time without cooing. Akane approached and watched how Sakurai did these activities. He seemed like he knew what he was doing.

-"I didn't know you had gardening abilities"- she commented. Sakurai didn't look at Akane.

-"I do. I may have gotten into Hope's Peak due to sheer luck, but that doesn't mean I'm useless, dear. I consider myself a man of many talents"-

Akane smiled. So far Sakurai had seemed to her just like an average guy, with nothing special to tell. Maybe now her impression would change. –"Like what?"-

Sakurai left the gardening shears there and walked to the wall. There was a gray console in there, with huge bundles of wires coming out of it. –"Besides gardening? I'm also a good electrician. Whoever made this shelter is really careless…leaving these wires without something to cover them"- he opened the console and flipped some switches –"There. No more danger"-

-"Gardens and electrical stuff. What else?"-

-"Um…well, I'm also a good gamer. I wish there were videogames in here; I'm tired of playing the same one over and over"-

-"Okay, games may count. Anything else?"- Akane wasn't very impressed so far.

-"Eeeeh…carpentry. Yeah, that too. I could create wooden stuff. Of course there's no wood inside this shelter, so I can't demonstrate. I think that's all"- Sakurai finished.

 _None of them are of much help in here. Shouldn't have gotten my hopes up_ Akane thought grimly. Although it was good to see that Sakurai had talents, even if they weren't SHSL level, she still wished they were more useful to their situation.

-"Don't think less of me because I'm not a real SHSL"- Sakurai seemed to have noticed what was crossing Akane's mind. The Chemist forced herself to smile, and replied that she wouldn't. Sakuari picked up the garden shears again and continued tending to the plants. Akane decided that, at the very least, she should try to bond with Sakurai.

_I helped Sakurai do gardening_

-ooooo-

Akane entered her bedroom to take a bath. She was full of dirt, after the gardening. Sakurai insisted to deal with every single plant in the garden, but Akane did enjoy it. There was something nice in taking care of something alive.

She had just finished it when somebody knocked to her door for the second time that day. She dressed hastily and opened the door to see Miyata.

-"Hi Ogata-san. I was wondering if you'd like to spend some time with me"-

The Chemist nodded, and went to the hallway. Miyata led her to the cafeteria, where he had some tea ready. He gave Akane a cup, and sat, contemplating her. Akane couldn't avoid remembering that Miyata always seemed to be glad at her presence. Could it be that he had a crush on her?

-"So, Miyata-kun. Have you made any friends?"-

-"Don't talk to me like I'm a kid, please"- he said, frowning.

-"It's just curiosity. Who do you get along with?"-

-"I don't really get along with anybody here. They're all a bunch of people who couldn't do business to save their own lives"- he said, with clear dislike –"The only one who seems to be okay is you, Ogata-san. You're different"-

Akane couldn't avoid feeling flattered, having the CEO's approval. He continued. –"And as such, I expect great things from you. Would you like a spot in my company?"-

-"A spot? What kind of spot?"-

-"You could paint buses"- he said. Akane stared at him, and took a sip of her tea, hoping that he wasn't serious. His straight face, however, said the opposite.

-"I'm not interested"- she said bluntly. Miyata looked surprised.

-"Why not? I mean, you could be in the best company ever created by somebody of my age! I'm sure a lot of people would kill to have a position in it"-

 _Bad choice of words, man. Also, I doubt it_ –"Thanks for the offer; Miyata-kun, but I don't really want it. I'd like to do something better in my life than painting buses"-

-"But think of the chemical stuff you could do. You could learn a lot of stuff about paint and its components while painting vehicles"-

Akane felt more annoyed with each word. What was up with him? Was this really what Miyata said to his potential employees? She was baffled than anybody would accept.

-"Is it the pay? Want money? If you want to, I could set you with an interesting salary, the best I have given to any of my employees. You'll have special privileges compared to everybody in your tier"-

Now Akane decided it was time to end the conversation. She chose the most hurtful thing she could think: -"Is your precious company still on foot, even after the apocalypse?"-

Miyata looked as if she had spit on his face. He stammered. –"W-Well, it's…not as good as before, but…"-

-"If it isn't 'as good as before', then I doubt you'll be able to give me privileges and that pay you promise. So no thanks, and I'm not interested"-

Miyata looked disappointed and somewhat hurt. Akane regretted losing her patience. –"Sorry if I was harsh, Miyata-kun"-

-"Did I say something wrong?"- He asked softly.

-"That wasn't really a way to offer a job. You made it seem like…you were desperate, in my opinion"-

-"I'm not somebody who knows how to talk to people. I'm better at marketing and economy. I know it's odd to be good at marketing when one's unable to actually talk with people, but that's how I am"-

-"If you want to, I could teach you a few tips, let's call it that"- Akane offered. Miyata smiled.

-"I'd be grateful. So, what do you have to teach me, Ogata-sensei?"-

_I taught Miyata some pointers on how to improve his relations with people_

-ooooo-

Akane sat on her bed. It was now time to sleep, according to her clock. That had been a nice day, at least most of it. Relaxed, and she met better three of her partners. How long would that apparent peace last, though? It was doubtful it'd be for long.

She didn't want to think about it, though. She preferred to focus on the good sides of her actual life. With those thoughts, she fell asleep.

-ooooo-

Monobear was sitting on his chair, in his office. In the nights he was supposed to wait for his master to come to the office, that is, if there was need. He didn't mind. As it was in his actual programming, it wasn't like he had a say in the matter.

That night it was different, though. In his cybernetic mind he saw an ID approaching the office. He knew very well who had that ID. The bear got off the chair, ready to receive his master.

The door creaked, and the Mastermind stepped in. –"Night, Monobear"-. The Mastermind had acquired the habit to talk with Monobear as if he were another human. The bear almost never replied, though. The person the Mastermind had asked to modify the programming hadn't inserted a function like that.

The Mastermind continued talking. –"I didn't think I'd need to retouch your programming, my friend. But special circumstances require special measures"- The Mastermind walked towards the computer, and pointed at it. Monobear approached and inserted his claw on the computer tower, turning it on. The Mastermind opened a few files, and started typing. The code would make Monobear kill whoever uttered a keyword, depending of the place it was said.

-"Now time for the trigger word"- The Mastermind connected a portable microphone to the computer power. Then he said clear and aloud the word that would trigger the function he had just activated.

-"Volkos"-


	11. Chapter 2 - Wolves Among Sheep (Ab)normal Days III

Akane was awoken by Monobear's voice. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to focus on what was being said…

…"at the conference room. There's a new announcement!"-

The voice came from the speaker hidden somewhere in the room. Akane got off the bed and sighed. _One day more in prison._ She quickly dressed up without bathing, as she judged there was no time. When she left her bedroom, she stumbled upon Reiji. They slowly walked together towards the conference room.

-"Good morning, Ogata-kun. How bothersome that the bear is calling us again, eh?"- he greeted.

-"Yeah…"-she wasn't really in mood to talk, and the truth is that she didn't like Reiji very much. Yukio seemed like a nicer person than the Law Master.

-"Monobear will, most likely, give us another motive to kill. I have a really bad feeling about this"-

-"It can't be worse than the threat of crippling us. Compared to that, anything else will seem like a minor problem"-

Reiji sighed. –"I wish I had your optimism, but the world is an ugly place, Ogata-kun, and you never know what lurks in people's hearts. My brother, for example…"-

-"What about your brother?"-

-"Ignore what I said. It's time to deal with this"- they had arrived to the conference room, everybody else were already there. Nobody was talking. Reiji sat with his brother, while she sat on the front row. A few minutes later Monobear appeared from behind his podium.

-"There are still fourteen of you. We're going too slowly! Are you all seriously going to wait until you starve?"-

Nobody replied. Monobear didn't seem to care. He put his paw behind his head, and continued. –"Upupu, a tough crowd today. Are you all afraid of the big nice bear?"-

-"What's this special announcement you said you had to do?"- Toriumi asked, glaring at Monobear. It was clear she wasn't going to let him take time prodding them trying to make them mad. Monobear grabbed a control over a nearby table.

-"Okay, since Miss Congeniality over here refuses to let me do small talk, I'll go straight to the point. Let's have a history lesson now"- he clicked a button of the control, and the screen on the back of the conference room turned on. It was a photo of the city, before the apocalypse happened.

-"The world was a beautiful place, wasn't it?"- Monobear spoke from the shadows –"Everything was as peaceful as humanity could be. Then, each one of you was accepted into Hope's Peak, each one in a different year"- the image changed to some sort of collage made of photos of each graduate, doing several fun activities at the school. Akane felt nostalgia from seeing it. –"And what wonderful years they were, eh?

Three great years. All of you graduated and were set to have successful lives. All of you found a job and managed to be recognized in your respective careers. There was nothing you couldn't do. But then…disaster struck!"- the image changed to a charming image of Junko Enoshima.

-"This girl started her plans to fill the world with despair, and before you knew it, she had managed to have a group of followers"- Shadowy figures now filled the screen –"Her charisma filled dozens of people. All of them, Hope's Peak students and former students, used their talents to spread despair all around the world. They were the Super High School Level Despair

So the world as you all knew it ended. For two years, despair ruled over the world! But as all good things, it started to end too. Junko Enoshima died in her efforts to crush hope!"- The image changed once again, and Akane almost threw up. It was an image of the remains of Enoshima. Noises from the back of the room let her know that others couldn't contain the bile.

Monobear didn't flinch –"Get it? Crushed! Gyahahahaha!"- he stopped for a few seconds more, and then changed it. Once again the shadow figures were in the screen –"Junko's Super High School Level Despair started decaying. Most of their members committed suicide, while others continued the carnage that filled the world. There are very few who are alive now, possibly around fifteen"- Monobear turned off the screen, and looked at the graduates.

Everybody was confused, unsure of what was Monobear's objective. Finally Akane spoke. –"What does this have to do with us?"-

-"I'm telling all of you this becaaaaause…one of you bastards is one of the remaining members of the Super High School Level Despair!"-

The reactions were mixed. Half of the graduates gasped and whispered between them, while the other half wasn't too impressed. Akane definitely was expecting something along those lines. –"So what?"-

-"What do you mean by 'so what'' One of you ruined everybody else's promising futures! Helped to end the world, and is one of those keeping it in despair"-

-"Most of us supposed that there was a SHSL Despair here, and we all know about who they are and what they had done. You telling all of this to us change nothing"- she said sternly.

Monobear stood in there in silence, and then looked forlorn. –"I thought I'd be able to cause more paranoia and despair between all of you. I keep forgetting I'm not dealing with children, you're all grown adults"- he lifted his head and looked straight at Akane –"Oooh…do you really think I didn't manage to do it? Upupupupu"- he once again entered his podium, leaving the graduates alone.

-ooooo-

Everybody were leaving to continue with their lives, but Chiba went around convincing them to go to the cafeteria. Apparently she wanted everybody to have breakfast now, but Akane was positive that the Strategist wanted everybody to discuss the motive. She seemed to be specially angry.

Everybody went to the cafeteria, as it was much easier and faster to comply than to try to go away. Chiba distributed the rations, and when it was all done, she sat with Akane.

-"So, it has been confirmed that a SHSL Despair is around us. Which one do you think it is?"-

-"It's the Mastermind, of course! Nobody else would be sick enough to trap us all here!"- Miyata intervened.

-"So...the rest of the SHSL Despair are outside, watching us all?"- Yamaguchi asked, doubting his words.

-"Most likely. It's a pretty fucked up group"- Miyata replied, matter-of-factly

-"That is putting it lightly. They don't have a shred of humanity left. They have little regard for anybody, not even for their own families. I'll admit I feel uneasy knowing one of us belongs to such a group"- Chiba added

-"Why did he use this as his motive, though? I don't see a lot of sense there"- Toriumi mused.

-"He's trying to be snarky or something like that. Don't pay attention to him"- Yukio replied. He was unusually pale and sweating.

-"SHSL Despair between us or not SHSL Despair between us, we need to focus on getting out of here or catching the Mastermind. I hope everybody has some sort of plan on that"- Chiba said sternly. Only Matsukaze and Toriumi held her glare, the rest looked down. –"You can't just wait there until somebody finds something! Contribute to the cause!"-

-"It's that I have no idea where to continue. I have checked everywhere and everything, yet I can't find a single clue about the Mastermind"- Ginchiyo apologized. Other people murmured, echoing on his words.

-"Definitely a bunch of amateurs"- Matsukaze said with obvious frustration.

-"Now, no personal attacks, Matsukaze-san"- Chiba reprimanded. Matsukaze scowled, clearly not liking this.

-"It wasn't even directed to anybody. Have I ever told you what a handful you can be at times?"- He spat before leaving. Chiba sighed.

-"He can be so rash at times…okay, start eating, people. Remember not to overfeed"- she clapped, and stood up. Akane felt the need to go towards the Strategist. The Chemist apologized for Matsukaze's behavior, even if she knew it wasn't her fault. Chiba waved her hand. –"It's okay, Ogata-kun. I know how he feels. You know what would put him in good mood? To see somebody doing a big effort to find something useful. And I have a plan for that"- she confided.

-"A plan? Can I help?"-

-"No, I can do it alone. Besides, it isn't much, and if I don't find anything useful, at the very least I'll be able to inform him about my efforts. It'll work. Between you and me, this plan is much simpler than any battle strategy you can think"- Chiba left the cafeteria with a smile, and entered the storage. Akane was somewhat confused by her words. _I'd expect it to be simple, yes_

When the Chemist was about to finish her breakfast, she being one of the last graduates left in the cafeteria, somebody sat in front of her. She looked up to see who it was. Once again, Reiji had come to talk to her.

-"Hi once again. What do you think about Monobear's motive?"-

Akane shrugged. She wasn't really in mood to talk extensively about the matter. Reiji ignored it, and continued. –"It actually has me a bit concerned. A SHSL Despair is a really messed up person, yet I can't see anybody that could be it"-

-"I don't want to think about it"- she said bluntly. Once again Reiji ignored it. He started to point towards some of the graduates left.

-"Curtis. A painter. However, who knows what he's hiding. What if he has another talent besides painting? What if his other talent is something…darker?"- Reiji whispered. Without waiting for Akane's reply, he kept talking –"Yukio…my own brother. At times I swear I can't recognize who he is. He hasn't been the same since he graduated and took part of The Council"-

-"The what?" – Akane managed to chime in.

-"Ah, for some time he was part of Hope's Peak's administrative council, representing the graduates. Chiba…there are dark rumors about her. See that behavior? She's a Strategist. I wouldn't be surprised if she were hiding a sinister personality behind that whole leadership façade. Be careful"-

-"You're being too par…"- Reiji put a finger against her lips, hushing her.

-"Paranoid? I'm being realistic. How well do you know your friends, even your past ones? Toriumi. What has she done since she graduated? What if she…got involved with you-know-what? She would never tell anybody if she did, and you wouldn't be able to see the difference"-

-"Please stop now! I don't want to suspect anybody. Not…right now"- Akane stood said aloud, attracting everybody's attention. She regretted having raised her voice. Reiji smirked, as if he were laughing at Akane's protest.

-"I'm just being realistic. You never know what lurks in people's hearts. And if there's a SHSL Despair in this shelter…chances are that this wretched person will try to kill. Offense is the best defense, Ogata-kun. Keep that in mind"- and with those words, Reiji left the cafeteria. Akane resisted the impulse to throw something at his head. She knew that his intention was to keep her warned about people, most likely so nothing happened to her, but she hated him in that moment.

Now she couldn't avoid thinking if what she was seeing in her graduate comrades was who they really were.

_Damn it!_

-ooooo-

The morning went slowly. Akane really wanted to do something active, but nothing in the shelter was fitting for this. She sighed, and decided to go to the garden. Maybe it could be relaxing.

She was going near the red door, when a hand touched her shoulder. She turned around, startled. Matsukaze stepped back, and apologized.

-"I'm sorry Ogata-kun, I didn't mean to scare you"- he said, holding his hands to his chest. Akane murmured a 'it's okay'. –"Have you seen Hikasa? I need to talk to him urgently about the Mastermind"-

-"No, I haven't seen him. Maybe he's in his bedroom. How has your investigation been going so far?"- Akane asked

-"Excellent. I have narrowed the possibilities to only two graduates"- he refused to say more. When Akane asked why, he said that it was because he didn't want anybody looking at the suspects with an expression that said 'I could be looking at the Mastermind right now', but he promised that there was a notebook in one of the lockers that would reveal everything. –"I'm not an idiot, Ogata-kun. There's a risk of the Mastermind getting rid of me, so the notebook will be your guide. Be glad it isn't a vague mess!"-

-"I haven't thought much of who is the Mastermind…it makes me feel really bad to think that one of my friends could…be…the…"-

Akane and Matsukaze were passing in the front of Monobear's office, and inside it, sitting on the chair, was Tomoe Chiba. On the desk there were strewn the disemboweled parts of Monobear.

-"What the hell have you freaking done?!"- Akane entered the office, screaming –"You're going to die now!"- Matsukaze entered calmly behind her. Seeing the Strategist with a screwdriver in hand messing with the robotic bear's technological innards didn't seem to even surprise him.

-"Ca-Calm down, Ogata-kun. It's all okay, I got…permission"-

-"But doesn't this count as attacking the Headmaster?"- the Chemist pointed, still panicking

-"He said that as long as I assembled this spare exactly as I found it, I wouldn't die. In my opinion, the bear wants everybody to make an effort investigating…remind you of somebody?"- Chiba pointed at Matsukaze with the screwdriver.

Akane took a moment to calm down, while Chiba pulled carefully pulled some wires more. –"Okay…it'll all be okay. But how did you even get permission to enter here? Monobear said that nobody could enter without his approval"-

Chiba grimaced, with obvious discomfort. –"I don't want to talk about the matter"- she said bluntly. –"Looks like disarming Monobear was more or less useful. While I didn't find any clues to the Mastermind's identity or something like that, I did find this"- she lifted a round black sphere and put it heavily on the desk. This time Matsukaze staggered back.

-"Be careful with that! It's clearly a bomb!"-

-"I know very well it's a bomb! I myself have worked with a few, this one is deactivated…for now. The thing is, I found this inside Monobear. We could get the ones in the spares along with this one and use them to blow up the entrance and get out of here"-

-"Then let's do this now!"- Akane said cheerfully. Matsukaze sighed.

-"Do you really think he'd let us gather a bunch of bombs?"-

-"No, he won't. But when the Mastermind is dead or something, this will be the way out. Just thought you should know. And here, check this too"- she lifted a few chips. –"These are some sort of wave receptors, and while I'm not completely sure, they look pretty powerful. Makes me think that there's even a chance that somebody could pass information to Monobear while being away"-

-"Impossible. We're underground under who knows how many tons of concrete. No way any kind of waves can pass through that"-

-"Yeah, I'll agree. Maybe these are to be used here in the shelter?"-

Their discussion about Monobear's workings was interrupted when the bear himself appeared on the entrance. –"What are you two doing here? Chiba-kun, when I gave you permission to enter, it clearly was without any guests"-

He approached Matsukaze and Ogata, claws bared. –"Get out of here! Scram! Out, out, out, out, out!"- he unceremoniously pushed both graduates out while Chiba made a face of 'sorry guys' and shrugged. Then Monobear slammed the door in their faces.

-"How rude!"- was all Akane could say while she stood up. Matsukaze seemed like he was deep in thought.

-"How did he know we were in there? There are no cameras, and for all he knew, we could have been inside our bedrooms"-

-"Does it really matter?"-

Matsukaze didn't reply. He left with a 'See you, Ogata-kun"- and left her while he went towards the first area. Akane growled, and went to the garden. She really needed relaxation now.

-ooooo-

After lunch, she went straight to her room. What did she have to do now? Why not to talk to somebody? At the very least, as a way to kill time.

Akane left her room, and knocked on Yukio's door. She remembered how Yukio had acted when she had mentioned his brother's title. Could it be that he secretly needed to talk and just didn't have the courage? She would give him the courage.

Yukio opened the door, and greeted Akane. She entered, and once again looked around. Nothing had changed.

-"How nice of you to visit me again, Akane-kun. Is it okay if I call you Akane-kun?"-

-"It's fine. Listen…I think that there's something you should tell me. I couldn't avoid feeling that there's some sort of dread behind you and your brother's title. Just wanted to tell you that you'll feel better after you talk about it"-

Yukio looked very uncomfortable –"It isn't much about my title…it's something different, but it's pretty related to it"-

-"Want to tell me? You can trust me, Ohmoto-san. I'm your friend"-

-"Sorry, I don't feel ready for this"- he said. His expression showed he wasn't going to change his mind about it, at least for the moment. Akane accepted his reticence.

-"Then why don't you tell me of something else? Like your time in Hope's Peak. You were there several classes before me, weren't you?"-

-"Well, my brother and I are from the 68th Class. We were pretty good students! I suppose that's why I was chosen for the Council once I graduated. They saw in me a great candidate to represent the graduate students' interests"-

-"So you got pretty good grades!"-

-"You could say that. I also was part of several clubs. Call me an overachiever"- Yukio laughed, proud of his accomplishments –"Something I'm especially proud of, is that I took part of some big chances in Hope's Peak after I graduated. I was one of those who pushed to keep the Good Luck tradition, I helped to establish the Reserve School, and I also gave them some indications on how to spend their money better. You have no idea how bad they were at that!"-

-"You were really influential, then!"-

-"My dream was to be Hope's Peak's Headmaster, you know. I saw all of these as steps to achieve my dream"- he said cheerfully –"Once the world returns to normal, I'm going to be Hope's Peak's new headmaster. I'm sure I could make the school be what it once was"-

-"Do you have plans for it?"- Akane felt somewhat awkward. Yukio seemed so glad of talking about himself and his plans, that she felt it would be wrong of her to form a conversation of her own. Listening seemed like a better plan

-"Oh, I really do! It's a long thing, though. Are you sure you want to listen to it?"- Akane nodded. Yukio took breath.

_Yukio made a long speech about what he would do once he was the Headmaster_

-ooooo-

Akane got out of Yukio's bedroom, dazed by his plans. That school would really get better once he got control of it! If she really knew the Law Assistant as good as she did, then Yukio would definitely be able to pull it off.

The Chemist once again returned to her room, and looked at her clock. 5:00 PM _Another day has passed_

She had just sat on her bed, when the speaker sounded.

-"A body has been discovered…"-

Akane didn't hear the rest. She only had ears for the first words. _A body has been discovered? No, no! Not now!_ She bolted out of her room, and looked around, trying to see where people could be gathering. She saw somebody run in the cafeteria area, so she went there. Nobody was there or in the kitchen, the storage or the pantry, so she left through the tunnel towards the second section.

After walking past the red door, she finally saw people gathered. They were all inside Monobear's office.

-"Wait! What's going on?!"- She screamed, entering the office, and pushed people aside until she saw the front. She gasped, and put her hands on her face.

Still sitting on the chair and face-down on the desk, with a screwdriver deep on the side of his neck, laid the dead body of Mishio Matsukaze, Super High School Level Detective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long it took compared to other chapters, people. I got back into college recently, so the updates may come slower now


	12. Chapter 2 - Wolves Among Sheep Abnormal Days

Akane stopped looking at the dead body and instead looked at the rest of the graduates who were present. There wasn't a single one who wasn't horrified, but chances were that the culprit was between them. She also took a brief glance over the room, trying to see important evidence.

Chiba was in front of the desk, looking at the dead body with obvious grief. She held the tears and did a military salute, as if it were her way to say goodbye to a comrade, then she turned around so nobody would see her in such a vulnerable state.

-"Let's start. You, Ogata-kun, get a partner and start investigating around here. I'll get another team of two as well, the rest…"- she started walking around, pushing people out of the room and directing them to different areas. Akane stood there, not sure where to start or who to have as partner. The latter was solved a few seconds later.

-"You know what we must do now, don't you?"-

Toriumi had approached. -"And this time we don't have a professional detective to help us. Keep your eyes open"-

Akane nodded. The Chemist was about to walk over to the desk, when an odd noise resonated in the distance and the office shook. Toriumi looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. Chiba instantly threw herself to the floor, and laid flat in there while covering her head and neck as well as she could.

-"What was that?"-

Toriumi shrugged. Toyogushi peeked into the office. -"Chiba-kun, Ogata-kun, Toriumi-kun, you have to see this!"- he urged. The three women reluctantly stepped out while Toyogushi paced around nervously. -"Hurry!"- he started running through the hall towards the room with the broken lockers.

-"What's so important"- Toriumi demanded.

-"We just heard an odd rumbling somewhere. What was it?"- Akane asked

-"I have heard that kind of noise before…was it…?"-

-"It was an explosion!"- he replied. Akane hollered surprised, and Toriumi looked like she definitely hadn't expected it. -"I'm serious! Something exploded in the lockers room!"-

-"That can't be true!"- Miyata had reached them.

-"I'm telling you it was! I was going to investigate somewhere else when...it just happened!"- Toyogushi made exaggerated gestures with his hands. It was clear he was in panic.

-"Don' make hasty conclusions. We'll know for sure after checking"- Toriumi was saying. Akane was thinking of something else. _Matsukaze's notebook! He had said it was in a locker over there!_ What if it was destroyed by the explosion? There would be no way for them to find the Mastermind.

The four finally got into the lockers room. Some of the graduates were already investigating. On a side of the room, a locker was completely obliterated. The rest were battered and charred. The room was small, yet only the lockers on one side were affected. _That wasn't a very strong bomb..._

**Explosion**

_Shortly after the body was discovered, a bomb exploded in the locker room._

-"Whoever did this better not have used what I think was used. If we end not having enough strength because some asshole wasted one of the bombs here, I swear somebody will be hurt"- Toriumi clenched her fists.

-"You know about them?"- Akane was sure she was talking about the bombs inside the Monobears.

-"What, the bombs? Of course I do! Now we won't all fit in this place if we all are in there at the same time. Go take a look, Ogata-kun. Show me how you fare. We'll wait here"-

-"Uuuh, actually, I'd like to enter too"- Miyata said meekly. Toriumi shut him up with a glare. Akane walked straight to the destroyed locker. She peeked inside it, and found several black hard pieces.

-"Those must be the rests of the bomb"- Hikasa had approached from the other side of the room -"It's obvious it was inside this locker, as it took the whole impact and kept it against the wall. No wonder the walls vibrated"-

**Rests of the Bomb**

_A few plastic pieces that once formed a round bomb. Believed to have been placed inside one of the lockers in the locker room_

-"Has any of you found anytjing in the other lockers?"- Akane asked. Hikasa got something out of his pocket.

-"This was inside one of the lockers over there"- he poined to the opposite side of the explosion. Akane took the object. It was an ID. When she turnd it on, she discovered it belonged to Matsukaze. She raised her eyebrows.

-"Is there anything near that needs one's ID to enter?"- the Chemist asked, remembering how Saitou's ID had a role in the past crime. Hikasa shook his head.

-"Nothing like that. I's odd that it's so far from the body"-

**Matsukaze's ID**

_Found inside a locker in the locker room. No idea why it was there_

-"What about a notebook? Did you find anything like that?"- Hikasa once again shook his head and was about to say something when Monobear appeared at the entrance.

-"So here is the rest!"- Monobear was impatient -"You lot haven't received my very useful file. Take this"-

**Monobear's File #2**

_Victim: Mishio Matsukaze_

_Time of Death: Around 5:15 PM_

_Cause of Death: Exsanguination_

_The death is believed to have taken a minute or two, despite there not being a significant blodd loss. There are no signs of use of drugs or anything else_

-"Also, there's nobody guarding the crime scene. What kind of pitiful investigators are all of you? Clearly not very good ones, upupupu"-

Toriumi ran towards Monobear's office. The bear continued. -"At this rate the culprit is going to be succssful. That would be a nice change! Finally the villain party is going to score"-

-"Shut up"- was all Akane said before running to the crime scene. _How could we leave it alone?_ The Chemist hoped that the culprit didn't tamper with it.

At first glance the room looked exactly as they had left it. Nothing seemed to have changed. -"We were careless. We can't let it happen again"- Toriumi said hoarsely. Akane spent some time trying to convince her that it was't her fault, but she rejected every word and insisted that they started investigating. The women approached the desk and looked around it.

-"Ths screwdriver undoubtedly killed him, but it can also tell other stuff. Take a look, Ogata-kun, and tell me what you see"- Toriumi indicated. Akane looked closer at the weapon and the gross wound, but saw nothing to report.

-"Uh, I'm not sure what is there to see…it's long and…yellow and…deadly"- she said. Toruimi rolled her eyes.

-"You really are very unobservant, Ogata-kun. Pay attention and listen to what I see"- Toruimi pushed Akane to the side and looked at the screwdriver for a few seconds, then took breath. –"From what I see, the killer must be left-handed. As you can see, the death wound is on the right side of his neck. No matter how I see it, there's no way for a right-handed person to deal such a blow"- the Private Tutor pulled the screwdriver out, spilling some blood around and making Akane wince –"I also can see a few scratches among the blood, near the tip. This screwdriver has been used for something rough. Other than that, it looks like it's new. And the last thing I see is that this screwdriver is very pointy. One wouldn't need a lot of strength to do serious harm with this"-

Toriumi finished her speech with an expression that clearly bragged about her superiority, which Akane understood very well.

**Screwdriver**

_The weapon used to kill Matsukaze. Long, thin and pointy. Found on the right side of Matsukaze_ _'_ _s neck_

Toriumi put back the screwdriver into Matsukaze's neck wound. Akane was freaked out by the Private Tutor's way to take the death so nonchalantly. The Chemist stepped away from the body, and focused on the desk. She saw two big dents on the surface, as if two really heavy spheres had been dropped on there from a certain height.

Keeping in mind the demonstration Toriumi had given, she examined closely the dents, trying to deduce something useful. Toriumi smirked, amused by the attempts to impress her.

-"Aren't you exaggerating, Ogata-kun?"- Toriumi said when Akane put her head on the desk to look better at the dents.

-"No, I can do this"- she kept examining closely the dents, trying to find out something. After a few minutes, she stood up straight.

-"So, what are the results?"-

Akane scratched her head sheepishly –"Absolutely nothing besides the fact that they're round and not very deep. Can you take a look and tell me what do you see?"-

-"There's nothing else to say. They're just dents, Ogata-kun. Look, you need to know when it would be a waste of time to look at something this closely. We don't have infinite time, Ogata-kun!"-

**Dents on the Desk**

_On the surface of the desk, towards the edge opposite to the body, there are two round dents._

-"How comfortable would you be with touching Matsukaze right now, my good friend?"- Toriumi smiled mockingly. Akane shuddered at the mere thought. –"Well, too bad. Do it. You never know what you may find. Register his pockets, at the very least"-

-"It's just that…it is icky, okay? I don't want to touch a dead body"-

Toriumi's glare made it clear that she wouldn't accept a no for an answer. Akane slowly approached Matsukaze, and carefully propped him against the chair, so the pockets of the shirt would be easily reachable, but first started with his pants. She put her hand in one of the pockets, and pulled out something. It was a rumpled cloth. The Chemist extended it, and noticed that it seemed to be a tie, or at the very least a piece of it. It was clear it had been ripped, judging by the ragged edges.

-"Interesting find, yes"- she heard Toriumi say softly. Akane paid more attention, and saw something near the neck. It was the rest of the tie, as it matched the colors and the material.

-"For some reason part of his tie was ripped violently and put in his pocket. Odd, because this seems to be a strong tie"- Akane verified what she had just said, and was happy to see it was true

**Ripped Tie**

_Most of Matsukaze_ _'s tie was ripped violently. Found in his pants pocket_

Akane continued checking the pockets, this time the one on the other side. She was kind of uncomfortable, but managed to find something more. It was a very odd object, white and curved, of a strange material.

-"Show me that"- Toriumi demanded and extended her hand. Once she had the object, she looked at it carefully. She pushed her glasses against her forehead –"Okay, I…I have no idea what this is"-

-"Could it be important?"-

Toriumi shrugged –"Beats me"-

**Strange Object**

_A cone curved to a point, completely white. Matsukaze had it in his pocket_

-"Don't forget his shirt. I can see from here there's something in it"- Toriumi pointed at the pocket. Akane searched through it, and found a small notepad. _Could this be_ _…?_ She anxiously opened the notepad, but a quick glance made it obvious that it was completely empty, with the exception of two pages, and neither of them had any clue about the Mastermind. _This can_ _'t be the notebook he talked about_ _…right? Tell me it isn_ _'t a cruel joke._ She pushed aside these grim thoughts and focused on the pages that actually had content on them. She looked at the first one. It had a strange code written, of the type that would be used in computer programming.

-"If…whatever, then…kill…varying the place?"- she read aloud. Toriumi snatched the notepad from her hands.

-"Computer programming. I had never seen any like this, though"-

-"What is its function?"-

-"Hmmmmm…"- Toruimi took a minute to analyze the coding –"If I had to guess, if one says this word here…"- she pointed at 'Volkos' –"…one dies, and the way of dying depends of the place one is in"-

-"How would that work? It's just coding. A computer can't kill"-

-"Think, Ogata-kun. What in this shelter is practically an AI? Or do you expect us to be in virtual reality so we die in a lightning strike when it's said?"-

Of course. Monobear.

**Notepad: Coding**

_The computer coding jotted down in the first page of Matsukaze_ _'s notepad. It_ _'s theorized that it makes Monobear kills whoever says the word_ _'Volkos_ _'_

Akane then took a look at the second page. There was only one thing, written in big letters in the center. She showed it to Toriumi. –"It's that word again"-

**Notepad:** **'Volkos** **'**

_Just that word written in the middle of a page._

-"But what does this word mean? I don't remember it being a meaningful word I any language. One would think it's Russian, but no, no meaning"- Toriumi was musing to herself. Akane left her do that while she looked around for more clues.

She was walking around the desk when she stepped on something. She lifted her foot and saw a piece of what looked to be debris. There was more under the desk. She crouched and pulled most of it. Everything was metallic; there were several wires and what looked like a satellite dish. She called Toriumi to take a look.

-"Now this is the most interesting clue I have seen so far"-

-"Why, it just looks like a bunch of junk"-

-" Ogata-kun, the Unobservant. That should have been your SHSL talent. Really, didn't you notice?"- Toriumi smirked once again. She clearly enjoyed being ten steps ahead of Akane. The Chemist was getting pretty tired of it, so she told the Private Tutor to say at once what she meant. –"When we came here the first time, I'd bet everything I owned that this wasn't here"-

-"Eh? You mean that…somebody tampered with the scene by dumping trash in here?"-

-"I doubt it's really trash. Take some of that junk with you, but the point is, this was put here while we were away during the whole explosion panic"-

Akane put some of the pieces in her lab coat pocket.

**Debris**

_Pieces of an unknown machine, lying under the desk. According to Toriumi, they weren_ _'t there when the body was discovered_

The ladies continued investigating until there was nothing else to check. None of them turned on the computer, there was nothing in the place with the spare Monobears, and they doubted that anybody entered behind the door with the keypad. They were about to leave when Monobear stepped in angrily, dragging…one of the spares

-"I can't believe any of you would do this to me. Leaving poor nice me just there, as if it were any trash…my feelings are very hurt"- Monobear made some dramatic gestures

-"What the hell are you talking about?"- Toriumi asked, crossing her arms.

-"I'm talking about this! I found this spare inside the library, and to make things worse, somebody tampered with it! Look at that!"- Monobear threw the spare at them. The belly plate fell to the floor, exposing what was inside. Between the wires and chips, there was a big round empty space. –"And look at this too"- he held one of the paws. There was one claw missing.

-"Who could have done this?"- Akane said. Monobear turned smug, as if it weren't a problem.

-"Oh, I know perfectly that the culprit is who did this. What kind of host would I be if I didn't know every detail that happened in this shelter? Except…"- Akane hurried him to continue –"Aaaaaagh, I don't get it! How did that Detective and the culprit get into my office without me noticing!? I have a lot of tricks yet they managed to sneak here"-

-"Details, now"- Toriumi demanded. Monobear laughed.

-"Upupupu, I wouldn't tell even if I knew it! But let me make this clear: I do know who killed the victim, so no worries. I'll know who to execute at the end of this!"- He left the office, laughing. Akane felt excited. She had noticed the meaning of one of the clues she had found.

-"Toriumi-san, look! This is actually the claw that is missing on the Monobear spare!"- she showed her the curved white object and how it matched with the rest of the claws. Toriumi nodded approvingly. She also added a detail she had remembered about the claws.

**Claw (update)**

_One of Monobear_ _'s claws, coming from a Monobear spare. Found in Matsukaze_ _'s pocket. It can open any electronic device, acting as some sort of keycard_

**Monobear Spare**

_One of the spares of Monobear. Found abandoned in the library without the bomb and without a claw_

-"Well, there isn't anything else to do in this crime scene. I'll go take a nap. See you at the trial, Ogata-kun"- Toriumi waved, and left Akane alone. She agreed that they had already found everything worthwhile in the office, so she went to talk to a few people to find out if they had ideas.

She stumbled upon Sakurai in the garden, tending the plants.

-"…no, I'm sure that I saw right. He's cornering all of us, how can he be so ruthless?"- He was whispering alone. Akane cleared her throat loudly; startling Sakurai and making him drop on his shoes the plant he was holding. –"Look what you did!"- He shouted

-"Sorry Sakurai-san, I was just wondering what you were talking about"- she apologized. Sakurai calmed down, and tried to avoid the topic, but Akane didn't do the same. She insisted.

-"If I tell you will you leave me alone?"- He asked, tired. Akane nodded. –"Okay, dear, don't think I'm crazy or anything, because I'm sure I saw what I saw. I saw…two Monobears! There are two of those damned bears going around in here!"-

-"It was just a spare found in the library, Sakurai-san. Nothing to worry about"- it looked like it was going to be senseless. Sakurai shook his head with energy.

-"What? No! The ones I saw were in the first area, not near the library. Just listen to me, okay?

I was there, going towards my bedroom, when I saw Monobear knocking on Hikasa's bedroom's door. A somewhat odd image by itself, yes, but when I turned around to not to interrupt them, I saw another Monobear entering the cafeteria. I'm not kidding there were really two!"-

-"Waaaaait…at what time did you see this?"-

-"It was almost five o'clock, I'm sure. But there's more. Around twenty minutes later, I saw Monobear entering the storage, but then I also saw Monobear coming out of the trash room. This is when I confronted him. I was all 'Hey you, what are you doing? How can you be in two places at the same time' but he didn't reply, not even with one of his lame responses. He just…went away. I ran to the storage and saw him harassing Yamaguchi-kun. He really was in two places at the same time!"-

Akane felt her eye twitching. To her the whole thing sounded like a senseless story, and Sakurai's tone and crazy expression didn't help either. She thanked him, and left the garden, but decided to at the very least remember what Sakurai had told her…just in case.

**Sakurai** **'s Testimony**

_In the span of half an hour before the murder, Sakurai saw two Monobears at the same time_ _…twice. First entering Hikasa_ _'s room, while the other went to the cafeteria, the second time one going into the pantry, and the other into the trash room._

Akane went to look for Yamaguchi, and found her in the storage. However, what she told her about Monobear's harassment didn't help at all to enlighten anything. It was meaningless enough to be ignored and forgotten.

While going out of the storage, she bumped upon Yukio. After she apologized for it, he asked him if he had any clue or something that could help

-"I'm afraid not. I looked into the crime scene and found some stuff, but I'm sure you already found them all"- he started naming each evidence he had seen and indeed, Akane already had found all of them.

Akane was about to leave, when an idea came to her. Maaaaybe…Yukio could confirm anything about the whole thing with Monobear? What if he saw something? The Chemist asked him if he had seen anything odd about Monobear.

-"Well, now that you mention it…there's something. It was just after the dead body announcement. I was one of the three that found it, you know. Monobear had come to me and told me that there was a dead body in the office. I checked, and it was true, so I went to tell it to other people, and while I was in it, I saw Monobear coming out of the lockers room. He went near to me and I'm sure he saw me, yet he didn't say a thing. It's odd, normally when I encounter him he takes it as a chance to really make me mad"-

Akane wasn't expecting a different story, but it showed that there was something afoot with the whole Monobear matters. Akane thanked him.

-"You're welcome, and oh, one thing more. Monobear was carrying something…I didn't look for too long, but I think it was an ID. I should have followed him, but you know, there being a dead body and all I just didn't think about that idea"-

**Yukio** **'s Testimony**

_Shortly after the murder, Yukio saw Monobear coming out of the lockers room. He had an object with him, possibly an ID_

**Monobear** **'s Strange Behavior**

_The Monobear Sakurai and Yukio encountered_ _generally acted different than normal towards us graduates_

Akane was tired from going around. It wasn't going to be long before the trial started, and she had no idea where else to search for clues, but in that moment she thought about the trash room. _Last time Sawashiro tried to get rid of evidence there. Maybe today_ _'s culprit did that too!_

She went towards the trash room, but the door was locked. –"What the…?"- She pulled and rattled the door, trying to open it.

-"Odd, isn't it? It has been closed for a while already. Yesterday in the night I tried to enter but it was locked"- Miyata approached after noticing Ogata trying to force open the door.

-"Monobear. It must have been him"- Akane screeched, calling the bear. Soon he obeyed.

-"What is it now, your highness?"-

-"Why did you lock this door?"-

-"It's always me, according to you people. Is it because I'm a bear? Does nobody like bears around here?"-

-"Let's go, Ogata-kun. It's clear he'll never give a straight answer"-Miyata gestured towards the Chemist, but Monobear did a theatrical gasp

-"Then I'm going to amaze you by answering with all the honesty I have: I didn't lock this door, although I should have done it after the medium tried to get rid of evidence. Unfair advantage, I say!"-

-"But how else could this have been locked if it wasn't you?"- She rattled the door again

-"Oh? It could have been anybody. After all, one of my keys is missing!"- Monobear was very pleased with how taken aback Akane was now –"Now if you excuse me, I have to go mess with a bunch of other suckers. Goodbye!"- He quickly left. As soon as the bear was out of sight, Akane kicked the door.

-"I'm betting it was the culprit! Who else would benefit from locking the door to the trash room? Surely he or she got rid of evidence and then locked this, just in case"- Akane muttered. Miyata looked doubtful

-"Then this was planned with a considerable amount of time. As I said, this was locked since yesterday"- he pointed. Akane took a deep breath, trying to calm down. The CEO continued –"Let's leave this room aside. I don't think it's related.

Akane sighed and nodded, and both left towards the cafeteria. The Chemist had no idea where else to go now, so she sat to wait until it was time for the trial. She decided to spend some time examining the pieces of debris that were found in the office. Was Toriumi right when she said they hadn't been there originally? Leaving that aside, what could these pieces form? Most were still in the office, so even if Akane managed to assemble what she had, she still wouldn't know

-"Ogata-kun? Uuuuuuh…listen…there's something I must tell you. I'm really sorry for…"- Miyata started. He fiddled with his hands, not sure how to continue. Akane tried to help him, but they were interrupted by Chiba.

-"Here you are! Toriumi told me that you had some debris"-

Miyata wasn't happy with the interruption. –"What the hell do you want? Can't you see we're busy?"-

Chiba glared at Miyata before turning her head to continue talking with Akane. –"Anyway, please let me see that. I think I know what this is"- Without waiting a reply, Chiba went ahead and took some of the debris. Much to Akane's surprise, she managed to piece together several of the pieces. Miyata had stopped frowning and now looked positively startled. –"Oh wow, I was right…"- she left what she had assembled, which was unrecognizable. It was obvious it was a part of a bigger machine.

Akane asked for an explanation, while Miyata just stared down. Chiba sat. –"These pieces and the rest in the office form a prototype of a signal interceptor the army was developing a few months ago. It was supposed to work as a machine that would intercept radio and infrared waves, and allowing one to send messages or manipulate electronics. This thing"- she pointed at the assembled piece –"is part of the main frame, but I'm completely sure it's part of the interceptor"-

-"How would you even know that?"- Miyata grumbled, still looking down

-"Because…eh…it was in my room since Day 1"- she confessed.

Akane raised her eyebrows. It seemed like a very convenient thing to have. That is, if there was something that could be intercepted. –"So you brought an army interceptor prototype here? It isn't the type of thing you go carrying around in your pocket"-

-"No! All I know is that when I woke up in my room, it was there. Not only that, there are other confidential prototypes that definitely shouldn't be here. I didn't bring any machines with me when I got here. And before you ask, no, none of them can be useful"-

-"It's yours, and it appeared on the crime scene. I'd say that's conclusive, don't you agree, Ogata-kun?"- Miyata said, almost indifferently. Chiba wasn't amused.

-"You idiot. I just revealed what it was and confessed it was mine. If I was the culprit, I wouldn't have said a thing"- she said, narrowing her eyes.

Miyata just shrugged. –"I was just testing your reactions. I'm not retarded, Chiba, I know you wouldn't have done this"-

 _I_ _'m sure there are some in this shelter who would, Miyata-kun. Lab coat in crime scene, oh gee, Ogata is the culprit!_ –"Any idea of why it's in the crime scene?"-

Chiba glanced down at the piece she had assembled. –"I gave it to Matsukaze-san"-Akane asked for an explanation. –"You see, this morning we were speaking, and I mentioned the stuff in my room. When I talked about the interceptor, he asked to me to give it to him. He didn't specify why he wanted it, but I was sure that it was going to be for good. I just…trusted him. He really was doing an effort to find the Mastermind"-

**Signal Interceptor**

_A machine that allows one to intercept and manipulate waves, belonging to Tomoe Chiba. Given to Matsukaze the morning of his death. Found destroyed in Monobear_ _'s Office_

**Remains of the Signal Interceptor (update)**

_Pieces of Chiba_ _'s signal interceptor. According to Toriumi, they weren_ _'t there before the explosion. When they returned to Monobear_ _'s Office, they were found under the desk_

In that moment, the speaker screeched, until Monobear's voice was heard coming from it. –"I'm getting bored already. We're going to start the trial now. Everybody go to the red door, and be ready for another showdown!"-

Akane couldn't avoid feeling nervous. –"Here we go again"-

-"Be strong, you two. We'll need bravery to cross the marsh of our uncertain future"- Chiba said, standing up. Miyata let out a 'meh', and left without saying another word.

Soon the Chemist was once again in the lobby before the courtroom. There was nervousness in the air, along with distrust, more than in the first trial. It's possible that since there wasn't an obvious suspect now, they couldn't just direct their bad behavior towards a specific person.

When the shutters to the courtroom opened, Akane suddenly remembered something. She really had forgotten to ask, and now it was the last chance…as she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to mention it during the trial. She reached Hikasa, and stopped him before he entered.

-"Hikasa-san! Just a question: what exactly did you find in the lockers room? Any evidence?"-

-"Uuuuh…we already talked about this. I gave you that Detective's ID already, remember? You even asked about a notebook"-

 _Oh, true_ –"It's possible that we missed something, damn it"-

-"That's where you're wrong!"- the Weightlifter puffed his chest, proud –"I was the first to arrive there after the explosion, and I instantly started to search for anything that could help. And I can say, and be 100% sure of it, that there was nothing else besides the rests of the bomb and the ID"-

Akane let him go into the courtroom, and took a moment to think before entering. She supposed that if Hikasa had found Matsukaze's notebook about the Mastermind, he would have mentioned it…unless…Hikasa was the Mastermind? It could be true, right? As far as she knew, he hadn't been discarded.

Or maybe the notebook had been destroyed in the explosion. If it was close to the bomb when it exploded, then it would be ashes, right? She didn't really have any idea how it would look.

Soon she was alone in the lobby –"Hurry up! Stop lollygagging and go to your podium, I'm impatient to start this!"- Monobear shouted at her. She nodded, and ran to her place.

**Missing Notebook**

_Matsukaze had hid his notebook about the Mastermind in one of the lockers of the locker room, yet it was nowhere to be found. Could it have been destroyed or taken by somebody?_

-"Now that we're all here, let's get this rolling!"- The bear said cheerfully, and banged his gavel a few times. Akane looked at the rest of the graduates, who had varying degrees of willpower. One of them had killed the one person who was going to great lengths to find who was behind it all.

And she really was hoping they all would find the culprit…even without the Detective's help now.


	13. Chapter 2: Wolves Among Sheep - Trial I

-"So let's start this trial!"- Monobear jumped a few times, while nobody said a word. Everybody just looked around awkwardly, without daring to look at each other's eyes. Monobear slowly settled down. –"Eh? Eh? Eh? Come on, get the show on!"- Nobody said another word, but it wasn't because they didn't want to talk! –"What's wrong?! Why are there no accusations or wild finger pointing around here?! Remember that if the culprit isn't found, you'll die!"-

-"Uuuh…it is that…I don't know where to start…"- Sakurai said. There were several murmurs of agreement. Monobear slumped down and almost fell of his throne from the sheer disappointment. It was true, though. Without a suspect, no matter how flimsy the case was, everybody was clueless of where to start the trial.

-"You're all hopeless. I'll start getting ready the executions, plural word, notice it. At least SOMEBODY will have fun at the end of this ordeal"-

-"We're not going to die…are we?"- Chiba frowned.

-"No, we won't! We'll get over this…somehow"- Yukio had started to talk bashfully, but at the end his voice quieted down. Once again the room was silent.

-"This is moronic. Let's review all evidence one by one, if it is needed, but we must get somewhere, and we must do it quickly"- Reiji hit his podium, and started rambling about several pieces of evidence. He was interrupted when he noticed Toriumi bouncing a ball –"What are you doing? I'm talking!"-

-"So much for a Law Master. You can't even keep people's attention"- Yukio mumbled, while Reiji glared at him. Toriumi ignored them both, and spoke to everybody.

-"Let's play a little game while we're here, alright? We're going to throw this ball around, randomly. It'll keep our hands quick and our minds even quicker"- and without warning, she threw it to Toyogushi, who caught it effortlessly thanks to his keen reflexes.

-"We don't have time for child play, idiot"- Miyata said, with obvious dislike towards the Tutor. She just shrugged.

-"Oh hey! This does work! I just…I just remembered something!"- Toyogushi had gained a lot of enthusiasm, and had spit his gum –"I noticed something really curious in the Monobear File, and I don't really understand its meaning"- after being prompted to continue, he got the file out. –"Check here. Matsukaze died from exsanguination, right? But here it also says that he didn't bleed much through the screwdriver wound"-

-"Another wound. Mystery solved"- Miyata said with a condescending tone. Toyogushi shook his head zealously

-"Here it says that there was no significant blood loss. This guy exsanguinated while not losing blood. Is it crazy or what?"- he finished, really proud of himself.

-"Wow, he's actually right. I remember that the crime scene was relatively clean, there's really no way he lost his blood…"-

-"Maybe he was moved into the room"- Hikasa said. Toriumi nodded, but before she talked, Kudo piped up.

-"Here it says that his ID was found in the lockers room. I'd say he was killed in the lockers room, and then was dragged into the office"- he made gestures as if he were dragging the corpse. Toriumi took the chance to give her opinion

-"It's possible, but I don't think that's what happened. Nobody here saw blood anywhere besides the office, right? And I don't think the culprit had enough time to clean correctly, we found the body, at most, one hour after the death. Oh, and Matsukaze wasn't really a light person, either. Dragging him around should have left some sort of clue"-

-"So he died in the office, losing blood without losing it. Our progress so far is astounding"- Ginchiyo deadpanned. Toyogushi said a 'maybe if you catch this something will come to you' and threw the ball at her.

-"There must be something we can work with…Mastukaze-san. Maybe something he did caused his death"- Yukio theorized

-"Like looking for the Mastermind and actually doing progress? Because that was pretty much his only character point"- Curtis responded

-"In that case, maaaaaybe…the Mastermind himself or herself got its hands dirty and killed Matsukaze to protect his or her plans!"- Akane said what had been in her mind for a while already.

-"It's possible! Nobody else here really had a reason to kill him. We all wanted to get out of here, killing the one who was going to make it possible would have been practically a suicide"-Chiba clapped, satisfied with the explanation –"So if we solve this murder, we could find the Mastermind as well!"-

** Nonstop Debate **

_Signal Interceptor / Monobear Spare / Claw / Missing Notebook / Monobear's Strange Behavior_

CHIBA: **The Mastermind was the culprit** of this crime, I'm sure of it

TOYOGUSHI: But we don't have **the slightest idea** of who is the Mastemind

GINCHIYO: Something will come during this trial, I hope

TOYOGUSHI: But **there's nothing** that points that the Mastermind was involved

TOYOGUSHI: For all we know, **_Curtis killed him_** after he insulted his paintings

CURTIS: He-Hey, don't be ridiculous. Focus on the reality, please

TORIUMI: **Matsukaze was pretty close** to find the Mastermind

TORIUMI: **_He confronted the_ bastard** and was killed in the process!

GINCHIYO: Or **_he had something t_** he Mastermind might have wanted

YUKIO: It's more likely that one of us killed him **_to get out of here._**

YUKIO: We didn't know how close he was to find the Mastermind…

YUKIO: …so the culprit could have killed him and doomed himself or herself

-"I agree with that!"- Akane yelled towards Ginchiyo. Then she took the claw from her lab coat pocket. –"This is one of the claws Monobear has. I remember that these can open certain doors and nobody under normal circumstances would have been able to. I think this is what the Mastermind could have been looking for"-

-"Oooh…right. Ogata-kun, then why do you have it? Are you the Mastermind?"- Toyogushi leaned forward.

-"Of course not! I found this in his pocket"-

-"In his pocket…then why didn't the Mastermind retrieve it? It's obvious it wasn't hidden, if you were able to just take it"- he pointed. Akane felt her confidence deflating. –"Nice try, but you should think twice before yelling dramatically"- he smiled kindly

_Damn it! This is not helping!_

-"So as I was saying before I was interrupted, the culprit could have…"-

-"No, wait! I do think that Ginchiyo is right. There's something that the Mastermind would have wanted.

-"If it is something that was found in the scene, Ogata-kun, then I'm telling you from now that you're most likely wrong"- Curtis replied. Akane shook her head.

-"I'm mentioning this precisely because it wasn't found in the crime scene. What's more… _it wasn't even found at all_

Akane told everybody about Mastukaze's notebook, where he had put it, and what he had told her about it.

-"So that's why you were so insistent about the stuff found in the lockers room. You wanted to know if the notebook was there"- Hikasa said, and the Chemist confirmed it

-"I think that definitely settles that the Mastermind was the one behind this all"- Toyogushi said, and several of the graduates agreed with him.

-"Now the big deal is to point who the Mastermind is. If we miss, then we all die"- Miyata said gloomily. This lowered most people's panache.

-"I think that we don't need to say a concrete name. We could just say that the Mastermind did it and we would be right!"- Yamaguchi pointed. Monobear instantly jumped forward.

-"Ah no, you won't! You'll need to give a clear and concise answer to the big question. I can't execute a concept such as 'mastermind'!"-

-"Then I'm going to solve this conundrum by answering who killed Matsukaze AND who we'll mark as the culprit"- Toriumi said, with a smirk. It was clear that whatever she was going to say now was something she had full confidence on. –"The Mastermind killed Matsukaze, buuuut…this person didn't do it with its own hands"-

-"Are you saying he manipulated somebody into killing the Detective?"- Toyogushi asked, surprised.

-"Why to do that when you got a puppet already? What I'm saying is that _Monobear_ was the one who killed Matsukaze!"-

Her words caused uproar in the courtroom. They had never expected her to accuse the bear himself. Monobear didn't seem too impressed, though. He laughed loudly, and proclaimed: -"This is amazing! Somebody had the guts to accuse me as a culprit! I was wondering if my picture in the slot machine would be there for nothing"-

-"Oh, I'm not saying you did it…willingly"-

-"Eh?"- he feigned confusion.

-"I found quite a curious writing in a notepad Matsukaze had in his pocket. It depicts a code, and from what I see, it makes you kill anybody who says a concrete keyword"- she started passing the notepad around, so everybody could see what she meant.

-"Wow, this is really complex, Toriumi-kun. How did you find out what this meant?"- Yukio complimented, truly impressed

-"I had to teach advanced programming to one of my pupils, and I always do an extensive investigation before even uttering a word about the matter. I'm THE Private Tutor"- she replied haughtily.

-"What does this word here mean? Volk…"- Curtis started saying. Toriumi lost her composure for a moment, yelling really aloud –"No! Stop!"-. When Curtis looked at her, stunned, she cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses and hair pins.

-"No, none of you say that word. In the second page you can see the word itself, but what matters is that it's the keyword that will make Monobear kill"- she looked at the bear, just in time to see him retracting his claws. Very few noticed it

-"I think I understand what you're implying. You're saying that Matsukaze uttered the word and then Monobear killed him because of that. Did I get it right?"- Toyogushi said, trying to check if his thoughts were following the Tutor's thoughts. She nodded.

-"That's exactly what I'm saying"-

-"But why would he say…Vorudemōto to Monobear? Was he confronting the robot using that word?"- Hikasa said, while everybody stood in silence at what he just had called the keyword. A snicker was heard, which soon turned into a full laugh. Yamaguchi was the one doing this ruckus, which was the first sincere expression of joy anybody in the shelter had heard in a while

-"Are we…ahahaha…are we going to refer to the keyword as 'that person'? Hikasa-san, I had no idea you even liked those book series!"- She continued laughing. Hikasa mumbled a '…I liked the books, okay?"-, before the rest forced them to focus back into the trial.

-"Call it Vorudemōto if you want, but focus"- Curtis said, stifling a laugh too –"So, that was on Matsukaze's notebook. How did he even get access to Monobear's programming? Did he take the bear and dismantle him? I doubt there's a manual around"-

-"I think I know how he found out about this. I noticed that there's a computer in Monobear's Office, which he used to put those two new rules in place. It's possible that Monobear's programming is in it as well"-

-"Supposing it won't get us anywhere, but I'll have to agree it seems possible"- Sakurai mulled

-"I can support my idea, Sakurai-kun"-

Explosion

Rests of the Bomb

Matsukaze's ID

Monobear's File #2

Screwdriver

Dents on the Desk

Ripped Tie

Notepad: Coding

Notepad: 'Volkos'

Claw

Monobear Spare

Sakurai's Testimony

Yukio's Testimony

Monobear's Strange Behavior

Signal Interceptor

Remains of the Signal Interceptor

Missing Notebook

**Claw**

-"Matsukaze-san had this object in his pocket. Later we found out that this is one of Monobear's claws. They have a quality: opening doors that aren't normally accessible for us"-

-"I remember! Monobear had to open the bedroom door so we could find Saitou-kun's body"- Yamaguchi said

-"And I think that I had seen Monobear using his claw on the computer tower in his office…"- Curtis added.

-"That's exactly what I mean! Matsukaze-san used the computer, using the claw"-

-"And he got the claw from one of the spares in the room, right?"- Miyata asked

-"It was from a spare, but not from any spare. It was from this one"- Akane showed the spare that the real Monobear had found in the library. Sakurai gasped aloud.

-"Oh! Oh! Oh! I see! Of course!"- he continued gasping as if he couldn't breathe. Kudo hurried to do the Heimlich maneuver to the Good Luck student, in an effort to help. His only reward was being pushed down. –"Leave me alone! It is that the explosion points even more to Monobear being the culprit! The bomb came from him, right? Monobear gutted himself and used one of the bombs, and then went to die to the library"-

His face shone as if he had discovered something amazing, but it was already obvious to most, sans the whole 'Monobear gutted himself' part. Curtis humored Sakurai. –"Yes, bud, that's right. This does hint more mingling from Monobear. It all is showing there's something behind it all. The faulty information in his file, the coding and the bomb…all of this is pointing towards Monobear!"-

-"Who has the ball? Ginchiyo, throw it!"- Toriumi urged. Ginchiyo shrugged and threw it at Kudo, who started bouncing it.

-"So it's settled! We're going to watch Monobear execute himself!"- Yukio said cheerily

-"He'll just use a spare from now on, surely"- Hikasa pointed

-"Yeah, he will, but at least we'll get the satisfaction to see his death, even if it is just temporal"- the Assistant's eyes gleamed with joy. Other graduates also enjoyed the thought. It was going to be their time to get back at Monobear for locking them in the shelter.

Akane joined the schadenfreude party, too, but then a thought crossed her mind. Monobear didn't seem upset at all, as if he had been found. He was fully relaxed, watching the trial with interest. This gave the Chemist a bad feeling. _What if at the end…he didn't do it? Or what if the Mastermind didn't do it either? It's a long shot but…_ She started to mentally remember every piece of evidence, trying to see if they had missed something important. If she didn't see anything, then she could vote for the bear without any guilt, but before that…

…and she found it. It wasn't entirely conclusive, but it would throw a serious wrench into the whole 'Monobear did it' idea

-"Guys, stop! I think that Monobear didn't do it!"- She shouted. The short-lived joyous atmosphere faded, and was soon replaced by looks of annoyance.

-"But who else would have done it, Ogata-kun? Nobody else fits as well as Monobear!"- Reiji said, glaring at Akane

-"Everything is pointing towards him"- Toyogushi commented –"I'm completely sure he killed the Detective to cover his own tracks, coding or not"-

-"No, please, listen to me. It's true that a lot of the evidence points towards him, but I think we're rushing. There are others that aren't completely clear, we should take our time and…

**I OBJECT TO THAT**

Akane looked at the ceiling, exasperated. Yukio had gotten of his podium, and was now advancing to the center, always pointing towards Akane. –"Your conjectures can only get you so far, Akane Ogata. These claims won't stand on the court without some evidence as your base. Now that you volunteer to be Monobear's attorney, then I'll have to bring on you the whole weight of the law"- he ran to the nearest podium and slammed his fist on it, causing the occupant to jump, startled.

Akane couldn't avoid being baffled at Yukio's newfound attitude. _He must be really sure of Monobear's guilt if he's going to act like this_ –"Alright, I'll follow your game"-

-"Now it's time to settle the conditions. You have one single chance, or your words will be stricken from the record and we'll go straight to the voting. One chance to convince me and the rest that there's reasonable doubt about Monobear's guilt. Will you accept these conditions?"-

-"Those conditions wouldn't even fit in a real court"- she replied, sourly. Yukio laughed, confident.

-"You have no idea if my influence. Now, do you accept?"-

 _I don't really have more option_ –"I do"-

-"Then let's do this. Listen to our words, members of the jury, and do the right judgment!"-

** Rebuttal Showdown **

_Monobear File #2 / Monobear's Strange Behavior / Screwdriver / Sakurai's Testimony / Explosion_

YUKIO: Monobear is the culprit of this crime

YUKIO: He found the victim snooping around the office…

YUKIO: …and was really enraged

YUKIO: The victim then confronted Monobear!

YUKIO: Made clear that he knew who the man behind the animal was!

YUKIO: And so that's the motive behind this crime

YUKIO: A coward covering his ways behind our actual predicament!

OGATA: A motive isn't enough to label him as the culprit

OGATA: If you want me to mention evidence, you should do it too

YUKIO: Unlike you, I do have evidence!

YUKIO: But first I'll tell you all what happened

YUKIO: The victim **sneaked into the office** …

YUKIO: …and **messed with the computer**

YUKIO: Monobear found him and **the victim confronted him**

YUKIO: At some point the victim **mentioned the forbidden word** …

YUKIO: …and **Monobear killed him**! Easy as that!

YUKIO: Then in an effort to distract us all…

YUKIO: …he **staged an explosion** , using his own bombs

YUKIO: His contradictions indicate that he has something to hide!

Akane thought for a moment, and then laughed to herself. It wasn't really a strong argument, yet he looked so confident…but she had seen an opening, and now was going to attack with one single piece of evidence.


	14. Chapter 2: Wolves Among Sheep - Trial II

-"Yukio-kun, you're so wrong!"-

-"We'll see, after you present your evidence. Remember, you only have one single chance"- he reminded this little fact. Akane laughed, and took her turn to do her own reminder.

-"So need I remind you what the weapon of the crime was?"-

-"Uuuuuh…"- that wasn't what Yukio had expected –"A screwdriver. What about it?"-

-"Now, take a look at it. Quite a thin object, eh? Now tell me this: _how would Monobear have the dexterity to stab with that screwdriver, or even grab it?_ _"-_

-"Aaaaah…oh! I don't…"- Yukio looked again at the screwdriver. At the end, he sighed, defeated. –"Alright, alright, I have no idea if it is even possible"-

-"Look at him! Not even a thumb, and the fingers, let's call them fingers, aren't even long enough to grab the screwdriver with enough dexterity to stab. It's senseless to suppose that he killed Matsukaze-san with it!"-

-"But what about the rest of the evidence? Are they worth nothing, then?"- Kudo asked, upset.

-"They're valid evidence. They just…may not mean what we thought they meant"- Hikasa replied without enthusiasm. Toriumi wasn't completely convinced, though

-"The screwdriver isn't a big deal. We can't even guarantee it was the object that killed Matsukaze. And before you say a thing, Ogata-kun, no, nothing says that it was. Monobear's file doesn't specify what the weapon was, and we all supposed it was the weapon because we found it on the Detective's neck. Something else could have been the weapon, something like…the bear's claws. You did jack shit, Ogata-kun. Feeling happy now?"-

-"You can't just dismiss the screwdriver! Until something else is found, we'll have to take it as the weapon"- Akane insisted, starting to feel uneasy. If the screwdriver got ignored, then they all would start voting for Monobear, and if he wasn't the culprit then…it'd all be over.

-"I think that we should leave the weapon aside, and go straight to the voting. There's nothing else to do now. Pass me the ball, Kudo-san"- Yamaguchi received the ball

-"I don't doubt that Monobear is the killer, but maaaaaaybe…"- Kudo scratched his head sheepishly –"Maaaaaaaybe we should continue, just for a while more. To make sure we have everything straight"-

-"Waste time if you wish to. I'm going to stay aside of this"- Curtis notified, taking off his beanie hat

-"Let's check the evidence again, to see how everything fits"- Ginchiyo took the lead in the new discussion by browsing through the evidence she had heard of –"What is this about a broken machine in the scene?"-

-"It seems like a broken slot machine to me"- Miyata said

-"You already forgot what it was, Miyata-kun?"-

* * *

Explosion

Rests of the Bomb

Matsukaze's ID

Monobear's File #2

Screwdriver

Dents on the Desk

Ripped Tie

Notepad: Coding

Notepad: 'Volkos'

Claw

Monobear Spare

Sakurai's Testimony

Yukio's Testimony

Monobear's Strange Behavior

Signal Interceptor

Remains of the Signal Interceptor

Missing Notebook

* * *

**Signal Interceptor**

* * *

-"It's a signal interceptor. Chiba-san herself came to us and told us what it was"- Akane continued

-"I know, I know! I was feigning ignorance to see who would say a thing, Ogata-san, which by the way, you ruined, dumbass"-

Akane couldn't avoid looking away. –"…oh."-

-"But what about a signal interceptor? How did Chiba-san know it was that?"-

-"Because it was hers. She had it all this time"- Miyata replied. The attention shifted to Chiba, who was very uncomfortable

-"You have some explaining to do, dear. What is going on with you?"- Sakurai demanded an answer. Chiba gulped, and started talking about how when she woke up, it was already in her room, along other army prototypes. She also added that she had given it to Matsukaze that morning.

-"…I told him about the interceptor because I trusted him, so he asked me to use it. I had asked what he was going to do, but he refused to go into details. But he was a good man, I know it!"- She finished her speech. Opinions in the court were mixed. Some believed Chiba's words and took them at face value, but others were reluctant to accept it, Sakurai among them.

-"I think this makes Chiba-san a suspect too. She broke the signal interceptor to avoid us linking it to her!"-

-"What? But I was the one who told Ogata-kun and Miyata-kun about what it was, in the first place!"- She protested.

-"It's all a strategy. You broke it, and then told us what it was, so you could seem like an innocent person!"- Sakurai was pointing at her now. Miyata groaned theatrically

-"Looks like at the end there was really somebody retarded enough to think that"- Sakurai ignored what the CEO had said

-"But I'm not sure what Matsukaze could use that interceptor for. I do have a few theories, but all of them are really bad"- Akane said, pensive

-"I think we may be getting sidetracked. What Matsukaze was doing with the interceptor isn't important. What's important is who killed him!"- Yukio reminded everybody.

-"So there's a chance that Monobear isn't the culprit, right? Then who is it?"- Toyogushi asked

-"Let's reach a middle ground: Monobear didn't do it, but the Mastermind isn't in the clear yet. Let's say that the Mastermind killed Matsukaze with his or her own hands!"-

-"Sounds good enough to me, Ogata-kun, but then enlighten everybody: who is the Mastermind?"- Toriumi asked the big question. While Toriumi instructed Kudo to pass it to Hikasa, Akane took a moment to think, while some of the other graduates looked around suspiciously. They could say that the Mastermind was the culprit, but without a concrete name, it was doubtful Monobear would allow it.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

_Claw / Sakurai's Testimony / Remains of the Signal Interceptor / Yukio's Testimony / Screwdriver_

* * *

REIJI: I think it'd be easier to say who the Mastermind isn't

REIJI: By example! Neither my brother nor I are the Mastermind

TORIUMI: Everybody is going to say "No, it isn't me"

TORIUMI: Now, we all agreed Matsukaze **died because of the notebook**

TORIUMI: How did the Mastermind know about it?

GINCHIYO: Maybe **_Matsukaze-kun told the Mastermind_** by accident?

MIYATA: That would be suicidal! It must have been some other way

TORIUMI: If only we knew for sure **what Matsukaze was planning to do** …

TORIUMI: Then we could get somewhere

CURTIS: It's more important to know why he was in Monobear's Office

YAMAGUCHI: **He was using the computer**. The claw tells it

REIJI: He could have met somebody in there

REIJI: You know, besides Monobear

CHIBA: **The interceptor was undoubtedly involved**

CHIBA: Why else would it have been destroyed and left there?

CURTIS: Damn it! We can't get anywhere without a clear idea of what he was doing!

* * *

Akane had her mind blank, while trying to reach a conclusion from the graduates' words. However, two phrases stood out.

_…if only we knew for sure what Matsukaze was planning to do_ _…_

_…the interceptor was undoubtedly involved_ _…_

It could be that…maybe one of the odd things she had heard during the investigation had an explanation? While the rest argued between themselves, Akane struggled to remember.

_Come on, Akane, you need to think of something. I do have the nagging feeling I know a possible way to continue, but damn, what was it?_

* * *

…something Akane saw before the murder

…something Akane heard before the murder

…something Toriumi saw during the investigation

…something among the evidence

…something Akane heard during the trial

* * *

**…something Akane heard before the murder**

* * *

-"Oh yeah! Guys, I remembered something. I think I may know who the last one to see Matsukaze-san was. I'm not completely sure, but there is a chance I'm right. Hey you! Did you, by any chance, talk to Matsukaze-san before his death?"- She got ready to mention the name of the person she was thinking about.

* * *

Akane Ogata

Chihiro Toriumi

Masashi Sakurai

Aya Sawashiro

Mika Yamaguchi

Reiji Ohmoto

Mishio Matsukaze

Saburou Hikasa

Kaiji Kudo

Ginchiyo

Masaru Miyata

Hoshio Saitou

Takeshi Toyogushi

Yukio Ohmoto

Ian Curtis

Tomoe Chiba

* * *

**Saburou Hikasa**

* * *

-"Hikasa-san, please confirm something: did you talk to Matsukaze-san, at all, today?"-

-"Eeeeh…it's hard to not to talk to somebody, you know. There isn't much to do in here"- he replied, evasive

-"And what did you two talk about? And when, for that matter?"-

-"Last time we talked was yesterday, so sorry, can't help with that"- was his reply

Akane rubbed her chin, musing about what she knew. It was just a hunch, but she was pretty sure Hikasa was lying. What she couldn't see yet is why was he lying? Is he the Mastermind? Is he the culprit? Is there any other reason?

-"Hikasa-san, I think you did talk to Matsukaze. In fact, I may even guess…you talked to him in Monobear's Office"- she said slowly

Hikasa laughed nervously, while others instantly asked Akane why she was saying that. She replied: "Look, we can all agree that Matsukaze-san was using the interceptor for something, right? Now, I'm saying that he used it to summon Hikasa-san to meet him"-

-"How? Intercepting the speakers?"- Toriumi asked

-"No, that isn't it. I heard nothing through the speakers. Besides, it's way too public, people would wonder why and how Matsukaze-san was calling for somebody through the speakers"- Curtis replied, shrugging

-"Weren't you going to stay away of the discussion?"- She spat, condescendingly. The Artist once again shrugged

-"Then how? How did Matsukaze-san call Hikasa-kun?"- Yamaguchi inquired

* * *

Explosion

Rests of the Bomb

Matsukaze's ID

Monobear's File #2

Screwdriver

Dents on the Desk

Ripped Tie

Notepad: Coding

Notepad: 'Volkos'

Claw

Monobear Spare

Sakurai's Testimony

Yukio's Testimony

Monobear's Strange Behavior

Signal Interceptor

Remains of the Signal Interceptor

Missing Notebook

* * *

**Monobear Spare**

* * *

-"I don't really have a way to confirm it, but if I had to suppose, the Interceptor was used to control a Monobear spare"- she stated

-"Wow! Controlling the bear himself? Matsukaze really had some balls!"- Curtis was very surprised to hear Akane's words. Yamaguchi, remembering she still had the toy in her hands, threw it to Hikasa

-"Is that what he did? Monobear, can you even be intercepted?"- Toyogushi looked at Monobear, waiting for an answer

-"Are you really that interested on me? I'm flattered, but I'm not responding to that!"-

-"Come on, it's for the trial. And you're the only one who can answer"- Toyogushi smiled meekly, then added –"Besides the interceptor has been destroyed. You're not in danger of being intercepted"-

-" I do know it's an interceptor, and I could assemble the pieces, but I won't be able to make it work. But I do know that he does work with waves. When I disassembled a spare, I found receptors that…"- Chiba started rambling about the mechanics of waves and how she thought Monobear worked. The Private Tutor cleared her throat rudely, interrupting her.

-"I think it's enough. Remember the coding on the notepad? I'm completely sure it came from the computer, there's no other place it could be useful. So, we could say there's a chance that the files in the computer are what are giving Monobear its actual behavior and protocols"- Toriumi mused.

-"But this place is full of concrete! Look at those walls! No wave would be able to get through it"- Sakurai countered

-"What do you want me to say? I didn't make Monobear. For all we know I'm wrong and there's a hamster controlling him from his head"- she replied caustically

-"So which Monobear was Matsukaze-san controlling?"-

_Hmmmmm_ _…I can_ _'t be completely sure, but I_ _'d say Matsukaze controlled_ _…_

* * *

_…the main Monobear_

_…the spare found in the library_

_…some other spare_

_…all of the Monobears_

* * *

**_…the spare found in the library_ **

-"I think it was the Monobear spare that was found in the library. There's something that does show that it's very likely Matsukaze-san was involved with it"-

* * *

Explosion

Rests of the Bomb

Matsukaze's ID

Monobear's File #2

Screwdriver

Dents on the Desk

Ripped Tie

Notepad: Coding

Notepad: 'Volkos'

Claw

Monobear Spare

Sakurai's Testimony

Yukio's Testimony

Monobear's Strange Behavior

Signal Interceptor

Remains of the Signal Interceptor

Missing Notebook

* * *

**Claw**

* * *

-"The spare in the library had a claw missing. If the claw in Matsukaze-san's pocket belongs to this spare, then maybe it's also the one he controlled"-

-"Suppositions, suppositions…"- Toriumi sighed, and signaled Hikasa to throw the ball to anybody. Sakurai was the next to hold the toy –"But I think we're straying from something you said earlier, Akane-kun. You assured us that Hikasa did talk to Matsukaze shortly before his death, but you haven't provided a shred of anything that could support it."- Hikasa almost hid behind his podium, as if he had hoped anything related to him had been forgotten.

-"Uuuuh…well…you see, I once talked to Matsukaze, and he told me this…

_-"I'm sorry Ogata-kun, I didn't mean to scare you"- he said, holding his hands to his chest. Akane murmured a 'it's okay'. –"Have you seen Hikasa? I need to talk to him urgently about the Mastermind"-_

_-"No, I haven't seen him. Maybe he's in his bedroom. How has your investigation been going so far?"- Akane asked_

_-"Excellent. I have narrowed the possibilities to only two graduates"- he refused to say more._

…so yeah…"-

-"It does show he had the intention to talk to Hikasa-san, but it doesn't mean he was able to do it"- Reiji pointed.

-"But there's something that shows that Matsukaze-san did really reach out to Hikasa-san"-

* * *

Explosion

Rests of the Bomb

Matsukaze's ID

Monobear's File #2

Screwdriver

Dents on the Desk

Ripped Tie

Notepad: Coding

Notepad: 'Volkos'

Claw

Monobear Spare

Sakurai's Testimony

Yukio's Testimony

Monobear's Strange Behavior

Signal Interceptor

Remains of the Signal Interceptor

Missing Notebook

* * *

**Sakurai's Testimony**

* * *

-"During the investigation I was told a really odd and frankly stupid story: there were two Monobears activated at the same time, and one of them was seen entering Hikasa-san's room. What if the Weightlifter was in his room? Then Matsukaze-san could have asked to meet him"-

-"Eugh, two Monobears? Who told you that?"- Reiji asked. Akane looked at Sakurai, who made a muttered 'what, shouldn't I have done that?"

-"Of course. A stupid story came from him"- Miyata said with obvious disdain

-"Leave him alone and focus, alright? So, Hikasa, did you meet with Monobear in your room? Did he ask you to go to the office?"- Yamaguchi inquired, leaning forwards. Hikasa turned red and stammered.

-"Well…no, such thing didn't happen. I wasn't in my room whenever that happened"- he replied with great hurry.

-"He says he didn't meet him. Now what?"- Chiba was very curious as to what the Chemist would do now. However, the Weightlifter didn't let Akane continue

-"You! Do you think I'm the culprit or what? Do you think that I killed him?"- he yelled towards Akane, anxious

-"Wait, no, I haven't said such thing…"- while she raised her arms defensively, Hikasa stepped back from his podium, sweating

-"Wait, guys, I remembered something"- Sakurai's eyes were filled with realization –" The Monobear I saw visiting Hikasa-san's bedroom didn't open the door with his claw. He had knocked. The door opened from the inside, and then Monobear entered"-

-"So somebody was in your room after all, Hikasa. And seeing how the whole ID business works, I find it hard to believe it was any other than you"- Toriumi said coldly

-"Guuuh…oooogh…"- the Weightlifter grunted, trying to restrain himself from he took a few deep breaths, he talked –"Okay, okay, I did talk to Monobear in my room. But it wasn't even the spare Monobear! It was the real one, yes"-

-"Can you confirm this?"- Toriumi looked at the bear, expecting an answer. He shook his head.

-"Not saying a thing"- he replied with a mischievous tone

-"I'm finding it hard to believe. The real Monobear wouldn't need to knock on the door to enter"- Chiba commented.

-"I don't give a flying fuck of what you think, Chiba. If I say it, then it's what I say happened. And it did happen! That's what happened"-

-"C-Calm down, Hikasa-san"- Miyata had no trace of disdain in his face. It was all worry, although one couldn't see if it was towards Hikasa or towards his own safety if the Weightlifter exploded in panic

-"And even if I talked to Monobear, it means nothing. I didn't even go to the office! It's all supposition, and it's wrong"-

-"You're making this embarrassing for all of us, Hikasa-san"- Kudo said monotonously

-"It's that she, it's she, she's thinking I'm in middle of all this. It's all her fault!"- he pointed to Akane. She was starting to be baffled by his behavior.

_What does he have to hide? Why is he acting so_ _…fidgety? If he met with Matsukaze-san, then why not to say it? Is he the culprit? Or the Mastermind?_

_Come on, Hikasa-san, let_ _'s try to get this in order_ _…_

* * *

** Panic Talk Battle: Saburou Hikasa **

Stop, I beg you!

You don't know what you're doing!

It's for the better

No! Enough!

It's the bear, the bear!

I didn't talk to the victim

Stop badgering me!

Can't you see how wrong this is?

No! Hold it back!

I just…I just can't say it

_I didn_ _'t talk to Matsukaze-kun. I never was in the office!_

**Ripped Tie and Dents**

* * *

-"There were two odd things I noticed when I checked the office: some odd dents on the desk, and Matsukaze-san's ripped tie. Now I realize that both can have one explanation: both can only be done by somebody with a great deal of strength. And of us all here, you're the strongest one, Hikasa-san"-

-"He's a Weightlifter, so no surprise. I doubt anybody else would have enough strength to dent wood like it happened back there"- Toriumi commented, pushing her glasses back

-"So, will you admit you were there, Hikasa-san?"-Miyata waited for a reply. Hikasa gritted his teeth and held a cry of frustration. He finally took another deep breath, and with his voice filled with obvious anxiety, he admitted it.

-"Alright. Okay, I was there. Matsukaze did really call me through Monobear, and I did go to the office. We did talk"-

-"What? And why didn't you say that before? Are you the culprit, perhaps?"- Curtis asked

-"Does none of you notice? I'm a dead man now. I broke a rule: I entered Monobear's office without his permission, and we all should know that breaking Monobear's rules will get you a sure death"- he said bitterly

-"What? Why didn't I know about this?!"- Several graduates were surprised to see that Monobear didn't know a thing either of what Hikasa had done. Until that moment, it seemed like he had known everything that had happened in the shelter, but now there were two things he hadn't heard of: Hikasa's entering and Matsukaze's entering.

Akane couldn't avoid feeling really guilty. If she hadn't pushed so much, there was a chance that Hikasa's rulebreaking would have gone unnoticed for everybody. Chances were that it would have been found out either way, but now that it had been revealed, it meant his death.

-"I'll deal with you once the trial is over, Hikasa-kun. And don't think I have forgotten your own bad behavior, Ogata-kun. You entered the office without permission too"- he was talking with clear menace in his voice, and for once Akane felt intimidated by the bear

-"Let's…let's focus, alright? So Hikasa-san, why don't you tell us what happened in the office?"- Toriumi asked, and told Sakurai to pass the ball. Now Chiba had received it

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

Signal Interceptor / Screwdriver / Missing Notebook / Ripped Tie / Monobear's File #2

* * *

HIKASA: I was in my room when Monobear came to me

HIKASA: He…Matsukaze-kun told me he needed to talk

HIKASA: **I followed the spare bear** to the office. He was there

KUDO: What was he doing?

HIKASA: He was writing something **in his notepad**

HIKASA: We talked about our suspicions…

HIKASA: He asked me if Vorudemōto meant anything for me

TOYOGUSHI: Did you see the interceptor?

HIKASA: He had it **_right there on the desk_**

HIKASA: After we were done talking, I quickly left the office

YUKIO: I expected more detail from you, Hikasa-san…

HIKASA: There isn't much to say. **The meeting was civil and peaceful**

* * *

-"You got that wrong!"-

Hikasa glared at Akane, as if he wanted her dead right there. Akane was sure that it was mostly because she had brought into the light his rulebreaking, and now was meddling into his story. However, she gathered courage and continued. –"I really doubt it was as peaceful as you say it was"-

-"Can't you stop doubting everything I say? Wasn't it enough to kill me?"- The rancor in his voice was chilling

-"Oh…sorry…I'm just going to leave this tie here…"- the Chemist put it on her podium

-"That isn't even a complete tie, but it's also stylish. Is this the ripped tie you had mentioned it earlier?"- Yamaguchi asked, trying to see better the tie on Akane's podium. Then without warning, she grabbed it and started to wring it. –"It's also of great quality! You'd really need some strength to do this to one of these ties"-

-"I don't know what you may think, Hikasa-kun, but ruining somebody's clothes doesn't sound civil or peaceful to me"- Ginchiyo sighed. Hikasa lowered his gaze

-"Okay, I lost control…once. But the rest of time I really was civil!"-

-"And what exactly did he say that made you do that? Did he accuse you of being the Mastermind?"- Kudo inquired. Hikasa growled

-"No. He…he…he accused Ginchiyo of being the Mastermind"-

Ginchiyo stifled a laugh, surprised. –"Me? Why would he think that?"-

-"He never went into detail. All he did was ask me for information about everything you had said or done in the shelter"-

-"Well, I'm not the Mastermind, that's for sure"-

-"That's what I told him, after I grabbed his tie and almost pummeled his face into a pulp. I contained my rage and said "Ginchiyo is an angel and wouldn't do such a thing as locking us in this hellhole". He struggled and…well, you know what happened to the tie. That's also how the dents on the desk happened; I hit it hard"-

Ginchiyo looked genuinely touched by Hikasa's past outburst, while Akane didn't know what to think. It didn't sound romantic or necessary. Pushing aside those thoughts, she called for Hikasa's attention

-"Yeah, leaving that aside, what else is there to say? What did Matsukaze say through Monobear when he visited you in your room?"-

-"Hmmmm…"- Hikasa laid his chin on his hand, thinking –"Not much. She asked me to put my ID in the lockers room and go into Monobear's office. That was it"-

-"Eh? Why did he ask you to leave your ID in there?"-

-"Beats me. I thought it was strange, but he didn't reply when I asked. I just went along with it"-

_Matsukaze told Hikasa to leave his ID in the lockers room_ _…knowing the Detective, there must have been a reason behind this, but what was it?_

_What would one gain by doing that?_

_Focus, Akane_ _…_

* * *

** Logic Dive **

#1: What did Matsukaze leave in the lockers room, related to his instructions?

-The missing notebook

-A bomb

-His own ID

* * *

**His own ID**

* * *

#2: What did Hikasa and Matsukaze have in common?

-Neither of them were able to hijack Monobear

-Neither of them were detected by Monobear

-Both of them were punished by Monobear

* * *

**Neither of them was detected by Monobear**

* * *

#3: If there's a relation between the IDs and Monobear, what could it be?

-Monobear spies the graduates through the IDs

-The IDs are to control Monobear through the computer

-Monobear has his own ID

* * *

**Monobear spies the graduates through the IDs**

* * *

-"I got it! It's so clear to me now!"- Akane gasped, attracting everybody's attention –"I think I know why Matsukaze-san's ID was found in the lockers room, and why he instructed Hikasa-san to leave his ID in that room as well!"-

-"Cool. What is it?"- Reiji asked, prompting Akane to respond

-"These IDs we were given…aren't just keys to our bedrooms and other stuff. Monobear uses them to spy us!"-

As soon as she said 'spy', almost everybody took their IDs out, and examined them carefully. The Chemist continued –"Earlier, Matsukaze-san and I went into the office. Monobear found us very shortly after we entered. For him to have known we were there without authorization he would have needed some way to be alerted of our moves"-

-"Maybe you two tripped an alarm"- Toriumi theorized

-"Neither Hikasa-san or Matsukaze-san were known to have entered Monobear's office, right? Then there can't really be an alarm, unless Monobear randomly deactivated it. I think that Matsukaze somehow linked everything to the IDs, and took the risk to sneak into the office after leaving it. Seeing how long he was in the office, taking in account when the Monobear spare was controlled, I'd bet that his deductions were correct. He escaped Monobear's vigilance by hiding his ID!"-

-"And that's why he asked me to do the same…"- Hikasa finished the train of thought –"He made sure I'd be undetected too while I was in the office"-

-"No! Not fair! This isn't supposed to be something you bastards are privy to!"- Monobear interrupted –"I'm going to have to take measures against this: From now on, all of you must keep your IDs within the same room you are, at all times!"-

-"This practically confirms that we're right. You spy us through the IDs"-

-"It does make sense…the IDs would need something akin to waves in order to transmit data…Monobear does have wave receptors incorporated, I did see it. Smart thinking, Ogata-kun"- Chiba said, impressed. She then threw the ball at Akane, and continued -"As much as it feels nice to have found out about this, it doesn't help much to name the culprit"-

-"It's Hikasa-san. He denied being in the office and was the only one to talk to Matsukaze-san"- Sakurai accused

-"No, I think there may be another possibility…Matsukaze-san said he had two Mastermind suspects, right? Ginchiyo-san was one, but who was the other one? Hikasa-san? I doubt it."- Kudo turned towards the Weightlifter –"Sorry man, but I don't think you'd ever have a chance to be a Mastermind"-

-"Then he called Hikasa-san to talk to him because…"- Yukio prompted Kudo to continue

-"Eeeeeh…maybe because Hikasa-san would be the one who could tell him more about Ginchiyo-san. It's pretty obvious they are, at the very least, friends. So, if Hikasa-san was called for this, then maybe another of us was summoned to tell information about the second suspect"-

-"Oh…you may be right"- Sakurai conceded –"Then who was called? Say aye if you talked to the Detective!"- Nobody said a thing, leaving Sakurai forlorn –"Nobody wants to cooperate with me. Woe is me"-

-"The second person is the killer! If he or she hadn't anything to fear, maybe he or she would have talked!"- Ginchiyo said

-"Or maybe Hikasa killed Matsukaze and there never was a second person"- Curtis reminded them all once again that the Weightlifter was still a suspect

-"But no other clues point towards a concrete person! The rest of the evidence we haven't examined yet are related to the explosion, and I think it's clear it was to…to…what was it for, again?"- There were shrugs but no answer

-"Doesn't really matter. I think there's one more piece of evidence that could work"- Toriumi smirked. She seemed pretty confident about what she was going to say. However, what followed wasn't what they expected –"So, who hasn't taken the ball yet?"-

-"Who cares about the ball? We're in a trial!"- Yamaguchi replied, annoyed

-"Oh, it's just curiosity. Agile hands, agile mind. So, who hasn't taken the ball yet?"- she repeated. Miyata, the twins and Curtis raised their hands. –"Whoever has it throw it to Curtis"- Akane complied, wondering what was going on. The toy had been passed from hand to hand during the trial with seemingly no purpose

After Curtis received it, the Private Tutor instructed him to throw it to anybody he wanted. The Artist chose Yukio. _Toriumi wouldn_ _'t do this without reason_ _…but what can it be?_

-"Excellent. Now to your brother, Ohmoto-kun"- Yukio flung it to Reiji, who caught it easily. _It doesn_ _'t help at all. Agility has nothing to do. It_ _'s just a ball. Throwing a ball, catching a ball_ _…_

_…with their hands_ _…_

_…_

_Of course!_

As if it were in slow motion, Akane watched Toriumi ask for the ball to be thrown to the last graduate. Reiji aimed towards Miyata's chest, and flung it. It flew through the air towards its target. The CEO easily caught the ball… _with his left hand_

Toriumi gasped loudly, but disguised it as a cough. –"Sorry, allergy. Now throw it back to me"- she asked for the toy. Miyata shrugged and threw the ball… _with his left hand again_

-"Toriumi-san, you did all of this to…it was all because...our hands? Our dominant hand?"- Akane stuttered. The excitation was too much. Toriumi had managed to fool her, and most likely everybody else with the inane game.

Toriumi was pretty happy, smiling openly for the first time. –"The screwdriver, Akane-kun, remember it. Being observant is the key. And since it's true, I kept an eye on each of you people's dominant hands. Only one of you used the left hand to _throw_ it. While some of you did catch it with your left hand, all of you used the right to throw it, which is to be expected from right-handed people.

And seeing where the screwdriver had been placed on Matsukaze's neck…I'd say it's pretty conclusive to say our culprit is left-handed"- she took a deep breath, very satisfied. She glanced at Miyata, who seemed like a deer blinded by the headlights. –"So congrats, Miyata!

You have turned into our prime suspect now"-


	15. Chapter 2: Wolves Among Sheep - Trial III

-"Miyata-kun? The only one of us that is practically a kid, Miyata-kun, killed him?"- Yukio sounded really skeptic. Toriumi shrugged.

-"I'm not accusing him right away. If you pay attention, you'll see that I said he's a suspect, not that he's the culprit"-

-"But earlier you were accusing Monobear, and by extension, the Mastermind!"- Kudo reminded everybody.

-"I was covering that base while I looked for a lefty around here. If none of us used the left hand to throw the ball, then I'd have pursued further towards Monobear"-

-"I'm not buying that. You're just backpedaling"-

-"Shut up, okay?"-

While Toriumi and a few others bickered, Miyata recovered his composure and once again looked aloof and disinterested. –"Miyata-kun, don't you have anything to say?"-

The CEO had managed to recover his composure, and once again looked like he was annoyed by everybody-"I don't care about it"-

-"What? You got accused of murder, man! And all you have to say is that you don't care?"- Sakurai was frustrated. Miyata sighed.

-"If you lot decide to blame me for this, congratulations, we all die. But if you all smart up and vote for Hikasa-san, then it'll all be okay. It's all I have to say about the matter"-

-"Miyata-kun says that Hikasa-san is the culprit. We need to choose between any of those two"- Reiji said the obvious.

-"Leaving that aside, let's just continue with the trial. Who knows…maybe something will come that will let us have more information"- Toriumi clapped her hands, attracting everybody's attention. –"Who will start? Nobody? I'll do it, then"-

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

TORIUMI: I have a question, Hikasa-san

TORIUMI: At what time did you leave Matsukaze-san?

HIKASA: I left the office around **ten minutes before the murder** …

REIJI: Ten minutes?! Wow, that is some tight timeframe!

OGATA: So then **_Matsukaze called Miyata_** to the office…

… **through the Monobear spare** , I suppose.

OGATA: Did you go to the office, Miyata-kun?

MIYATA: ...

CHIBA: Your silence only incriminates you further!

MIYATA: …..no.

MIYATA: I didn't even see the bear today.

MIYATA: Matsukaze-san was killed while Hikasa-san was there!

MIYATA: So no, **there was no second bear** calling me

HIKASA: I'm innocent, guys! I did leave Matsukaze-san alive!

MIYATA: **_His dead body begs to differ_** , man.

MIYATA: You even admitted the confrontation! You just omitted you killed him

HIKASA: I couldn't kill anybody. I don't have the heart for that

* * *

-"No, that's wrong!"- Akane pointed dramatically at Miyata. The CEO had committed a mistake in his words, as they contradicted one of the testimonies. –"Miyata-kun, it's a fact that there was a second bear"-

-"You call it fact, so I suppose you have something conclusive, right?"- He had a smug smile on his face.

-"Sakurai-kun, tell us again your testimony please. Focus on the part after your first Monobear sighting"-

-"Uuuuh…right. So a while after the first one, I don't know how long, I saw a Monobear going into the trash room. But then I also saw a Monobear going into the cafeteria and the pantry. So I ran after the one that entered the pantry, and saw him…"-

-"I think that's enough"- Akane didn't see fitting for him to reveal Monobear's harassment towards Yamaguchi. –"As you can all hear, there was a second Monobear sighting"-

-"And who was controlling it, Ogata-kun?"-

* * *

Miyata

Hikasa

Matsukaze

Monobear

* * *

**Matsukaze**

* * *

-"I'd be willing to bet it was still Matsukaze-san, and he was going to call Miyata-kun to talk to him"-

As soon as she finished those words, a nagging feeling entered her mind. She felt like there was something she was forgetting, a glaring contradiction in what she knew. She struggled to think and know what it was, but it didn't matter how much she tried, she just couldn't remember what it was.

-"Did you check your source, Ogata-san? It's the bumbling doofus. You can't really trust him to really be seeing what he says he saw"-

Akane facepalmed. It seemed that it was now necessary to reveal it. –"Then let's ask for the rest of the story"-

-"Okay, so I followed the second Monobear into the pantry, and I saw him bothering Yamaguchi in his usual rude and M-rated way!"-

-"I don't mean to sound rude, but is that true, Yamaguchi-kun?"- Chiba tried to ask as tactfully as possible. Yamaguchi blushed noticeably.

-"Y-Y-Yes, it's true. He was…you know…"-

-"I think that does confirm that Sakurai-kun's words have some truth in them. I'd say we should trust it"- Toyogushi chewed on more gum –"Things aren't looking good for you, Miyata-kun"-

-"Ugh, it isn't even an important thing. What if he was alive? Just because he was alive, doesn't mean I was called. I stand by what I said: I saw no bear"-

-"So once again we didn't make progress? There must be something conclusive to help us!"- Yamaguchi bit her fingers, trying to think of a way to continue the trial

-"Let's discuss the explosion. I have wondered about it for a while…why was it necessary?"- Chiba continued –"I don't think the culprit made an explosion just because"-

-"He could have been trying to confuse us"-

-"No, I think there must have been an ulterior motive"- Akane replied –"Maybe it was to destroy the notebook"-

-"That would be overkill! Why would one do that when just taking the notebook would be enough?"- Ginchiyo pointed

-"Well, if one couldn't just grab it, then there would be a need to seek another way"- Chiba replied

-"Do you think a bomb is the way to destroy a mere notebook? It rules me out as the culprit, then, because only a moron would use a bomb to destroy a notebook"- Miyata smirked, satisfied with his response.

_…No, I think…there's a possibility that Chiba has something right…if one couldn't just do something, then one seeks another way…_

-"What if the bomb was a distraction…"- Akane played with her hair, trying to choose her words –"…but just because the culprit didn't have any other option than doing it?"-

-"I'm not sure I understand…"- Toyogushi scratched his head

-"Okay, let's say that the culprit were in…a tight situation. One where he would be found out quickly unless he did something drastic. Then the explosion could be this drastic solution, the one perfect to heighten his chances to succeed"-

-"But what situation would there be that could be solved by an explosion?"- Reiji asked. All the graduates were expecting the answer.

-"I'm not completely sure, but…"- Akane was thinking wildly, and after thinking for a few seconds, she said the only possibility she could think –"What if it was…getting out of the crime scene? What if the culprit had been into the crime scene until the very moment of the explosion?"-

**THAT'S RIDICULOUS**

The Fashion Designer had a scowl that nobody in the courtroom had seen before on her generally gentle face. She continued –"One of those two was trapped into the crime scene? And the only solution was to cause an explosion? That is…ridiculous!"- She was visibly exasperated

-"I'm not saying he was trapped…"-

-"Besides, you're pulling all of this out of your ass…sorry for the language. Just because you said that doesn't mean it actually happened"-

Akane sighed. She was unsure of what she was going to do, as she didn't know what evidence she could present that could help to support what she had said. _I should have clearly remarked that it was just a possibility…agh_

* * *

** Rebuttal Showdown **

_Remains of the Signal Interceptor / Yukio's Testimony / Notepad: 'Volkos' / Explosion / Dents on the Desk_

* * *

YAMAGUCHI: It's true that a bad situation calls for drastic measures but…

…it doesn't mean it's what happened

I insist that the explosion was just a distraction

A mere ruse to cause confusion. And look!

It was successful on you.

You're grasping on flimsy details by now!

OGATA: I was merely saying a possibility

I wasn't really saying it was what had happened

YAMAGUCHI: Then I'll take the chance to make it clear

The culprit had no reason to stage the explosion

**He wasn't trapped in the crime scene**

**He could perfectly retrieve anything from the lockers room**

**He could go make himself an alibi**

And **there was no place to hide in that office**

What's more, if anything, I think…

…that **the explosion gave an alibi** to several of us here!

See? There was no reason at all!

* * *

One of Yamaguchi's lines had given Akane an epiphany. _Maybe there was a reason after all for the explosion…but it wasn't the only distraction!_

-"I got it!"-

-"What? What did you get now?"-

-"I just remembered…Yukio-kun, your encounter to Monobear. What was it?"-

-"Oh…well, first he came to me and said that there was this dead body in the office, so I peeked in and saw it. I went to tell others, but while I was going to do that, I saw Monobear coming out of the lockers room with an ID…"-

-"There! There it is! I think I understand now"-

-"Then explain it, because I'm clueless here"- Yamaguchi pouted, impatient

-"Yukio-kun saw Monobear coming out of the lockers room with an object. He believes it's an ID. What if it was? What if the object was really an ID, and it belonged to the second person who talked to Matsukaze-san?"-

-"That would be the only reason for the ID to be in the lockers room in the first place!"- Hikasa realized

-"Yes. What if something happened that made the culprit be unable to go himself to retrieve his ID? Using one of the Monobear spares would be the safest way to do it, with the bonus that it had a great way to cause a second distraction if it was necessary: the bomb"-

-"Second? Was there even a first one?"- Miyata gritted his teeth. Akane looked at him, confident.

-"Why would Monobear tell Yukio-kun that there was a dead body in the office, in the first place?"-

-"So, it was done to cause a distraction!"- Curtis replied

-"Yes. I think that the culprit hoped to get himself some time…but I'm not sure why"-

-"Eeeeh…I don't think I told you the whole thing, Ogata-kun"- Yukio interrupted –"When Monobear told me about the dead body, I was in the hallway to the office, trying to think of a way to enter without getting caught…Monobear peeked from behind the door, and that's when I was told that"-

-"If Miyata was still in the office, then he couldn't really peek by himself or be seen around. It would turn him into the prime suspect"- Hikasa continued

-"Hey, this doesn't implicate me in any way!"- the CEO countered.

-"It doesn't implicate Hikasa in any way, either. This is just clearing up some stuff"- Chiba replied

-"But where would the culprit be hidden?"-

Akane thought for a moment. There weren't many options, and while there was no evidence, once again, there was one that stood out thanks to simple logic.

* * *

_The spare Monobears closet_

_The room behind the keyboard pad_

_Under the desk_

_Behind the door_

* * *

**_The spare Monobears closet_ **

* * *

-"The only two possibilities I see are the spares closet and the locked room with the keyboard pad. And I doubt that Hikasa-san or Miyata-kun found out the password, so the spare closet, it is"-

-"So, let's see…the culprit used Monobear to check if there was anybody in the hall outside the office. That twin was near, so he resorted to use Monobear to retrieve the ID. And then…boom?"- Hikasa tried to see if he had understood everything so far

-"More or less, yes. I think the bomb was more of a preventive measure, in case he didn't manage to get the ID at the first try"-

-"Okay, I'm not completely convinced that the culprit was in the office. There are…a few doubts there"- Yamaguchi was still skeptical –"Let's continue, Ogata-kun. Enlighten me"-

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

_Screwdriver / Claw / Sakurai's Testimony / Monobear Spare / Remains of the Signal Interceptor_

* * *

YAMAGUCHI: Did anybody here check that small room with the spares?

KUDO: I think that if anybody had done that…

KUDO: …it would have been said by now

YAMAGUCHI: Then since there's nothing definite, let's forget about that room

YAMAGUCHI: The bear **could have been controlled anywhere**

MIYATA: That's right. **The interceptor could have been used anywhere**

MIYATA: Hikasa-san may as well have taken it with him…

MIYATA: …to control it from any other place!

YAMAGUCHI: No! What I'm saying is that any other place works as well

YAMAGUCHI: We're all baselessly supposing it was all in the office area…

YAMAGUCHI: …when nothing shows the culprit even stayed there!

CHIBA: So, **_the culprit left the office_** just after the crime?

YAMAGUCHI: Exactly, and **he took the interceptor with him**

* * *

-"You got that wrong!"-

-"Now what?"- Yamaguchi groaned, not liking the interruption

-"I don't think the culprit took the interceptor with him, unless that very same culprit returned to the crime scene to dispose of this"- she showed the rests of the interceptor. Yamaguchi's eyes widened, having forgotten about the debris

-"Yeeeees…the…the culprit…yeah…made an explosion to have time to put that debris in the office!"- Not even Yamaguchi herself sounded convinced by her own words

-"Why the culprit would put that same debris there? There are a lot of places to hide it, and the crime scene is definitely not the place for that. Unless the culprit never left the crime scene and was in a hurry to get out of there"-

-"The rests weren't there when the body was found, yet they were there after the explosion"- Toriumi added –"And going around with that debris would be odd enough to be noticed. It was just too much risk"-

Yamaguchi thought for a moment, and finally sighed –"Okay, maybe you got a point there. But…okay, I give up. I'm staying out of this"-

-"I think that settles everything about the explosion. And as you can see, nothing points towards me. Are you all going to forget me as a suspect now?"- Miyata grinned cheerily, with clear mockery towards everybody.

-"No! There are other unclear mysteries yet. They could have something that implicates you"- Sakurai replied. Miyata erased that smile.

-"Now, the cause of death…the whole 'bleeding without actually bleeding'…we still need to get that clear"-

-"We know that Matsukaze-kun undoubtedly died into the office, and that there was a lack of excessive blood around"- Toyogushi remembered

-"The screwdriver was the cause of death, as well…I think"- Ginchiyo was pretty unsure –"Even though Miyata-kun attacked with that, there was still not a lot of blood around, so the heart stopped beating shortly after that, or had stopped beating before"-

-"Again with saying it was me. If you're so confident, vote for me right now, then"- the CEO dared everybody to do it. Only Akane, Hikasa and Toriumi showed they were ready to do it

-"It just doesn't make any sense, doesn't matter how I see it. How can one lose blood and not lose blood at the same time?"- Curtis grabbed his head in frustration

_There must be an explanation. I have to rethink everything related to the cause of death and the Monobear file, and find a way!_

_…or at the very least, something that could fit this problem. With, or without evidence_

* * *

** Logic Dive **

#1 The Monobear file…

-Is completely accurate

-Is misleading on purpose

-Is a complete lie

* * *

**Is misleading on purpose**

* * *

#2 If it is misleading, then how exactly does it mislead?

-It is way too vague

-It is a false report

-There may be some sort of hidden meaning

* * *

**There may be some sort of hidden meaning**

* * *

#3 Which part of the report could have another meaning?

\- The death is believed to have taken a minute or two

\- There not being a significant blood loss

\- There are no signs of use of drugs or anything else

* * *

**There not being a significant blood loss**

* * *

#4: How could Matsukaze exsanguinate without losing blood from his body?

-Constant blood transfusions

-Internal bleeding

-It was all psychological

* * *

**Internal bleeding**

* * *

-"No, come on. Monobear, this can't be serious"- Akane glared at Monobear –"Did Matsukaze-san have internal bleeding?"-

-"Of course he did! I was wondering when you bastards would notice"- was his reply. Akane groaned aloud

-"But how were we expected to know?! Why the hell didn't you say that from the beginning?!"-

-"I didn't say anything false. He died from exsanguination but there was no significant blood loss. Most of it is still inside his body! Gyahahahaha!"-

-"…Bullshit. That's pure bullshit"- Toriumi spat, very disgusted

-"I can't avoid wondering about something, though…Monobear, if you didn't even know that Matsukaze had even entered your office, how did you know he died because of internal bleeding? "- Yukio inquired.

-"…"- For once Monobear didn't seem unsure how to respond

-"For the love of…this is a hole in the very fabric of logic in this place!"- The other twin commented

-"Okay, I'm just going to wave my paw, and we'll all pretend the whole internal bleeding business was cleared up since the beginning, alright? Now continue with the trial!"-

-"How could you know who the culprit is, though?"-

-"I have my ways"- he continued waving his paw –"But in all seriousness, I did see the culprit's manipulations"-

-"Leave him alone. We're going to solve this our way"- Hikasa interrupted –"Okay, so Matsukaze had internal bleeding. What could have caused it?"-

-"A savage beating from a certain individual could have done it"- Miyata said maliciously. Hikasa growled, annoyed

-"Oh…I think I know what did it"- Chiba mused –"If there was internal bleeding, I can think of only one thing that could cause it: the interceptor"-

-"What? How can it cause internal bleeding?"- Sakurai inquired

-"There's a reason it was merely a prototype: it was unsafe for use"- the Strategist explained –"We had to use very wide ranges for the interceptions, but the wider the range, the more concentrated the waves were, for some reason. These waves could cause some damage to the internal organs; at least that's what we verified with our mice and reptiles. We were in middle of fixing it, but then, you know…end of the world"-

-"So the culprit heightened the range and used it against Matsukaze-san? How would the culprit know about that?"- Reiji made a pretty good point. Chiba sighed and shrugged

-"No idea, but it's the only way to cause internal bleeding"-

-"The internal bleeding started it all, and the screwdriver finished it. One or two minutes are a long time to be agonizing. I feel really sorry for Matsukaze-san…"- Akane muttered, closing her eyes.

-"And this yet again doesn't point towards any of those two. It's nice to fill the blanks, but without something that leads to the culprit, we're just wasting time!"- Yamaguchi hit the podium. Several of the graduates agreed.

Soon a tally was done to see how the voting was going to be held. People were really indecisive, seven of them leaning towards Miyata, but it was clear there were some that could have second thoughts. Akane was still sure that the CEO was the one behind the murders, but she just didn't see any way to confirm the murder.

-"Okay, this is what I think happened, alright? I'm going to say it all, to see if there's anything left"-

* * *

** Climax Inference **

_This all started when Matsukaze formed a plan to sneak into Monobear's office to investigate. As the prelude, he put his ID in the lockers room, to avoid being detected by Monobear. Once it was done, he took the signal interceptor and entered the office._

_Once he was inside, he took one of the spare Monobears and took off its claw, which he used to turn on the computer, and browsed through Monobear's coding, jotting down a couple parts that seemed interesting. Once he was satisfied, he turned it off and went to the desk, ready to use the signal interceptor to control the spare Monobear._

_He had planned to talk with two different graduates: Hikasa and the culprit. First he called Hikasa. Somehow he found that Hikasa was in his room, possibly through the IDs, so he directed the spare to call Hikasa, and instruct him to leave the ID in the lockers room and come to the office._

_Once the Weightlifter was there, they discussed the Mastermind's identity. During the discussion, Matsukaze inadvertently pissed Hikasa off, which made the Weightlifter to grab him from his tie, ripping it and damaging the desk. The discussion was more civil from that point._

_Once they were done, Hikasa left the office, and Matsukaze used the Monobear spare again to call the second person: the culprit, who was found in the trash room. The culprit received the same instructions, and soon he and Matsukaze discussed the Mastermind as well._

_However, this time the discussion took a fatal turn for the Detective. For some reason, the culprit directed the signal interceptor towards Matsukaze and modified its settings to cause severe damage to Matsukaze, resulting in internal bleeding. While Mastukaze was agonizing, the culprit took the screwdriver somebody had left lying around, and stabbed Matsukaze with it, finishing the deed._

_Knowing how grave his situation was now, the culprit used that very same interceptor and the very same Monobear spare to peek through the hallway. As Yukio was there, the culprit couldn't just go out and retrieve the ID he had left in the lockers room, so he hid in the closet with the Monobear spares, and used the spare to tell Yukio about the dead body. The Law Assistant surely checked how true it was, and then went to gather other people to see it._

_Taking this as his chance, he directed the Monobear to the lockers room, where he took the ID, but he also did something else: he extirpated the bomb from the spare with its own claws, and hid it in one of the lockers. Then Monobear, carrying the ID, was seen again by Yukio. This unfortunate happening led the spare to be in the library. At this point, it wasn't controlled anymore._

_The graduates started arriving to the office, finding the dead body. The announcement happened, but the culprit was still inside the spares closet. Seeing how bad his situation would be if they started investigating and found him, he detonated the bomb. The explosion attracted all of us to the lockers room. The culprit took this as his chance to escape, so he smashed the signal interceptor, perhaps to get rid of the crime weapon, ran to the library, retrieved his ID and then reunited with the rest of us in the lockers room._

_The culprit successfully avoided leaving any big clues towards his identity, but a few bouts of bad luck, such as Yukio's repeated presence around the hallway, led to complications that almost ruined the plan itself._

_And this all was done by one person. It can be only you, Masaru Miyata!_

* * *

Akane took deep breaths after the long speech about the events that led to Matsukaze's death. Everybody except Miyata was depth in thought, digesting what had been said. Miyata still seemed pretty smug.

-"Cute, Ogata-kun, but I insist it wasn't me"-

-"I think it does make sense"- Sakurai gave his opinion –"Yes, I'm settled. I'll vote for Miyata-kun"-

-"I still have some doubts…"- Curtis didn't complete his thoughts. Several of the graduates seemed to be in the same state than him. Akane was starting to get frustrated with their lack of panache

_Come on, what else do you need?_

Then she realized what she had been struggling to remember.

* * *

"… _Matsukaze used the Monobear spare again to call the second person: the culprit, who was found in the trash room…."_

_"Around twenty minutes later, I saw Monobear entering the storage, but then I also saw Monobear coming out of the trash room."_

* * *

_She went towards the trash room, but the door was locked. –"What the…?"- She pulled and rattled the door, trying to open it._

_-"Odd, isn't it? It has been closed for a while already. Yesterday in the night I tried to enter but it was locked"- Miyata approached after noticing Ogata trying to force open the door._

_-"Monobear. It must have been him"- Akane screeched, calling the bear. Soon he obeyed._

_-"What is it now, your highness?"-_

_-"Why did you lock this door?"-_

_-"It's always me, according to you people. Is it because I'm a bear? Does nobody like bears around here?"-_

_-"Let's go, Ogata-kun. It's clear he'll never give a straight answer"-Miyata gestured towards the Chemist, but Monobear did a theatrical gasp_

_-"Then I'm going to amaze you by answering with all the honesty I have: I didn't lock this door, although I should have done it after the medium tried to get rid of evidence. Unfair advantage, I say!"-_

_-"But how else could this have been locked if it wasn't you?"- She rattled the door again_

_-"Oh? It could have been anybody. After all, one of my keys is missing!"-_

* * *

_-"I'm not completely sure, but…"- Akane was thinking wildly, and after thinking for a few seconds, she said the only possibility she could think –"What if it was…getting out of the crime scene? What if the culprit had been into the crime scene until the very moment of the explosion?"-_

* * *

-"Aaaaaaaah!"- Akane screamed, in sudden realization.

-"What the hell?! Did you have a traumatizing flashback?"- Kudo rushed to Akane's side. She pushed him aside.

-"What? No! I think…I think I found the necessary evidence to reveal Miyata's guilt, without any doubt"- she wasn't that sure it was true. Even if her new idea ended being true, it wouldn't mark Miyata as the culprit. However, some bluffing could work. –"First, a question: has the trash room been locked for a while already? Has anybody here tried to enter?"-

After some silence, Ginchiyo raised her hand. –"Uuuh, two days ago, I needed to dispose of some trash, but it didn't open"-

-"It happened to me too yesterday. It was locked, or something"- Hikasa informed

-"This morning too"- Toriumi added. Akane nodded.

-"Then how could it be that Sakurai-san saw the Monobear spare coming out of the trash room? And what's more? Why would the Monobear spare, controlled by Matsukaze-san, go to the trash room in the first place? The only reason I can think is that it was to call the second person!"-

-"So the culprit had free access to the trash room! At the moment of his call, he was there; I don't see any other way to confirm this fact!"-

-"Yes. And remember that the culprit was in the office the whole time. He didn't have time to hide the key or anything, nor did he have any reason for it. I have a really good hunch that indicates that the culprit needed to hold onto the key for some time more"-

* * *

_…he needed to retrieve something from the trash room_

_…he needed to hide in the trash room_

_…he needed to get rid of something in the trash room_

* * *

**_…he needed to get rid of something in the trash room_ **

* * *

-"It's very likely that the culprit took the key in advance to have a chance to get rid of evidence without any trouble"-

-"But I thought so far everything indicated this was a spur-of-the-moment thing!"- Toriumi pointed. Akane giggled, noticing the contradiction she had just said

-"Yeah…I don't know what the culprit was thinking when he took the key in the first place, but I'm confident that he still needed to destroy something: this!"-

* * *

Explosion

Rests of the Bomb

Matsukaze's ID

Monobear's File #2

Screwdriver

Dents on the Desk

Ripped Tie

Notepad: Coding

Notepad: 'Volkos'

Claw

Monobear Spare

Sakurai's Testimony

Yukio's Testimony

Monobear's Strange Behavior

Signal Interceptor

Remains of the Signal Interceptor

Missing Notebook

* * *

**Missing Notebook**

* * *

-"I think it's very likely that the culprit found the notebook when he was putting the ID in the lockers room. Seeing that it was about the Mastermind, he took it, planning to destroy it after the meeting with Matsukaze-san"-

-"But why would he destroy something that could lead to the Mastermind?"- Toyogushi wondered. Akane had a reply ready for that question.

-"Remember that Matsukaze-san was killed during a discussion on the Mastermind's identity. I think that the culprit has or had a strong connection with the Mastermind, something that leads to not to want the Mastermind to be caught"-

-"It could be, yes…killing Matsukaze-san practically ensured the Mastermind to be hidden for longer"- Yamaguchi commented –"Only somebody who supports that monster could do it"-

-"So, now to the climax of this line of discussion: Hikasa-san, Miyata-kun, you two will submit to a body inspection…"-

-"Oh! Oh! Can I inspect Hikasa-san?"- Ginchiyo couldn't avoid saying, giggling like a schoolgirl. Akane stopped, glared at her, and then continued.

-"…a body search to find the key. Toyogushi-san, go for Miyata-kun, restrain him while Toriumi-san searches. Ginchiyo-san, search while I restrain Hikasa-san"- she instructed, and approached Hikasa. It was ridiculous to think that anybody would restrain the Weightlifter, but he didn't move while Ginchiyo touched him all over excessively. Akane reminded the Filmmaker that it was supposed to be a serious matter and not a moment to let her lust get to her head.

Meanwhile, Miyata-kun wasn't smug anymore. Toyogushi had approached, menacingly, and the CEO had almost crushed himself against the wall, trying to avoid what was unavoidable. Soon the Stuntsman had Miyata in a chokehold, while Toriumi performed the search. Soon the fruits of the labor were shown.

-"Bingo"- Toriumi held high the key she had found in Miyata's clothes

-"That's identical to the keys in Monobear's office!"- Yukio informed.

-"And with that, I think it's settled who was in the trash room. Only Miyata-kun could have entered, this key is the proof. I'm guessing that when you found me trying to open the trash room you were trying to go to get rid of the notebook, right?"-

-"Uuuh, Ogata-kun, I have bad news in that regard…"- the Private Tutor started saying, but Miyata interrupted her with a laugh.

-"Hahahahaha..You got it almost right, Ogata-kun. I did take the notebook, but I did manage to destroy it. Then I went to my room for a moment, and when I was going to the cafeteria I saw you trying to open the trash room. I should have left the key in my room, but the point is: Matsukaze-san's deductions are gone forever"-

Hearing that the object she had hoped to find was destroyed was a strong blow to Akane's pride. She slowly sat on the floor, trying to process the new situation. _We're no closer to find the Mastermind…we're back to having zero information…_

-"So you admit it! You admit you killed Matsukaze-san! …right?"- Reiji approached Miyata. The CEO once again smirked.

-"Yeah, it doesn't really matter, but yeah. I killed him. Now go vote, if that makes you lot happy"-

-"Well, that concludes the trial now!"- Monobear stood up in his throne –"Who will be found guilty? Will you bastards be right or wrong? Let's find out!"-

All the graduates, including a very forlorn Akane, made their votes. The slot machine on the wall soon stopped on Miyata's portrait, and the 'guilty' sign lighted up, confirming the verdict.

-"Excellent! It's correct! The Detective was killed by none other than Masaru Miyata-kun!"- Monobear announced loudly, then talking more naturally –"Not that it's a big surprise, since he confessed and all"-

-"You pathetic excuse of…why did you kill him? Why are you supporting the Mastermind? He also locked you to starve in here, bastard!"- Akane seemed like she was struggling not to punch Miyata on his face. He shrugged.

-"It's a long story"-

-"You screwed us all to be in here for much longer"- Reiji rubbed his hands in glee –"I'm going to feel so good when I watch you be executed…"-

-"Now why would I be executed?"- Miyata's condescending attitude showed again. Akane screamed in frustration.

-"You killed somebody and got caught! You're dead!"-

Miyata laughed, enjoying how everybody was acting. –"Now, I won't be executed. You all don't know anything, do you? You know why I killed? It's true that it was to protect the Mastermind, yes. But I also saw it was my chance to get out of here. It's guaranteed that I will"-

-"How did you even know that the interceptor could kill him?"- Chiba asked, intimidated by the CEO's lack of remorse

-"It was a mere accident. During our struggle, I hit it, maybe that modified its settings, and it ended pointing towards Matsukaze-san. Suddenly he was there, writhing in agony. I finished him with the screwdriver because damn, it really looked painful. Why not to speed up his death?"-

Chiba grabbed her hair, regretting having given Matsukaze the interceptor. Miyata continued, relentless. –"Congrats, Ogata-kun. You did manage to deduce everything that had happened. It's all like you said. You're certainly a diamond in middle of all these pieces of worthless coal"- he clapped, almost sarcastically. Akane bit on her fists, still restraining herself. –"Also, as I was saying in the cafeteria: Sorry, Ogata-kun. I'm really sorry for practically dooming you to death, although I wasn't going to say those exact words. But don't worry. I'll keep you alive in my mind while I'm out of here"-

She couldn't stop it anymore. She hit Miyata on the face with all the strength she had. The CEO fell to the floor, groaning. Akane had never felt so good before, but maybe the moment of the execution would top it.

Miyata stood up, touching his nose. –"Nobody else would have dared to do that, I bet. Yeah, you're something special"- he turned to Monobear. –"Monobear! It's time for me to go. Open that door, right now"-

Monobear looked at Miyata, as if he was trying to evaluate if it was a joke –"Now why would I do that?"-

-"You know the rules very well"- was Miyata's reply.

-"Upupupu…I do…and the rules say that if the culprit gets caught, then an execution will happen!"-

This was the first time that Miyata's face had an expression of authentic worry. –"No. Remember the rules. The rules of our people"-

-"Those rules have no effect in my shelter, bastard! Upupupupupu"-

Miyata's face contorted into rage. He clenched his fists, seeing that he wasn't getting out of there easily, after all. His delusion was now crashing into the ground, and there was nothing he could do to avoid it. He could at least take revenge at the betrayal, by betraying as well.

He turned around to face the graduates. –"Diavolos Avante. Those are the people who trapped us all here. They're a group of people around the Earth whose goal is to model the world after the Despair according to their own rules, to hold power. They take advantage of the vulnerable state of the world to set the bases to practically rule over once this whole Despair Incident is over"-

-"Wait, what?"- Everybody had been listening, but it was so out of the blue that they needed it to be repeated. Miyata didn't do that, though.

-"You! You'll stop now!"- Monobear screeched. The CEO ignored him.

-"I'm not privy to the exact goal of the shelter, but there's no doubt they're the ones behind this. Volkos is one of the Main Board members, and…"-

It happened too fast for anybody to process what they had seen before it was done. As soon as Miyata said 'Volkos', Monobear leaped forward with amazing speed, and grabbed onto Miyata's shoulders. Miyata was taken by surprise. The bear bared its claws and rammed them into the flesh of the neck. Blood instantly gushed from the wounds. Monobear dragged his claws through Miyata's neck, staining the courtoom and his own fur. The CEO gurgled for a moment, and then fell to the floor. He didn't move anymore.

-"Aaah…aaaaaaaaaah!"- Yamaguchi screamed, terrified. Most of the graduates stood there, shocked. The most stoic had an expression of sheer terror, while the more sensible ones had a variety of reactions. Yamaguchi continued screaming, Yukio started foaming to his mouth, and Hikasa choked.

Ginchiyo was the first to recover. She rushed to Miyata's body, took off the odd poncho-like thing she was wearing, and wrapped it around Miyata's neck, trying to contain the blood. It was useless, as he had already died. Monobear laughed, seeing the desperate efforts to keep the corpse alive.

-"No! No! He was revealing it all. This is unfair!"-

-"Aaaw, cheer up! He looks better dead, but let me try to cheer you up"- Monobear took Ginchiyo's sunglasses from her forehead, and slapped them on Miyata's corpse. He then barely managed to lift the head. –"I'm aaaaaaalright, guys. I was saying a load of bollocks, ignore everything I said!"-

-"Stop mocking him!"- Ginchiyo raised her hand to slap Monobear, but Hikasa caught her hand, saving her. Monobear glared at Ginchiyo menacingly.

-"Now that we left the matter of the culprit aside, there are other matters we need to take care of. Like you bastards breaking my rules. I haven't forgotten about that. And since Miyata-kun here is dead and I don't want to waste the effort I had on assembling his execution machine, Ogata-kun and Hikasa-kun will go through it!"-

-"Wait, what? No! Then what about him!"- Hikasa pointed at Yukio –"He entered your office too, to check the body!"-

-"What? No, I didn't! I saw it from the entrance! Besides Monobear had told me to check"-

-"Waaaait…the rules say that you can enter the office only with Monobear's authorization. And since a Monobear spare had told Hikasa to enter the office, it would mean he technically had the authorization required…don't you think?"- Toriumi glanced at the bear. He stomped on the floor, frustrated

-"That's not fair! You know what the rules mean!"-

-"But that's what the rules say. Hikasa is safe"-

Monobear thrashed around for a while before calming down. –"Alright, alright. The musclehead will live. However, nothing is saving you, Ogata-kun. You're coming with me!"- He pointed at Akane. The Chemist tried to think any way to circumvent the rule, but she just couldn't find a way. She started despairing, seeing that death was close. Monobear didn't give a moment to recover.

-"And now, it's time for Akane Ogata, Super Highschool Level Chemist's execution. Let's roll!"-

-"No! No, wait!"-

Monobear ran to his throne and hit the big button with his mallet. The screen on the side lighted up. 'The culprit has been found guilty. Now starting execution"

The known clamps emerged from the hole in middle of the courtoom, and grabbed Akane and Miyata's corpse, dragging them into the depths of the executions room.

* * *

**_Hope's Peak's Black Monday_ **

The room lighted up with spotlights. Akane and Miyata's body were in a wide round platform, suspended over the floor. Over their heads there were several pistons, all with the word 'fired' written all over. On the walls, several screens turned on, revealing what looked like a graph, one side marked with 'Miyata' and the other with 'Monobear and the World'. A metallic contraption emerged from the floor, ending on a wide ring. Akane grabbed it and pulled. It was connected to a wire. The graph that indicated Miyata's winnings, supposedly, grew slightly, while Monobear's depleted.

Suddenly three more contraptions emerged from the floor, all of them ending in rings. Monobear's graph started growing quickly while Miyata's (and hers, now) started falling. Akane grabbed two of the rings on each hand, and pulled, slowing down Monobear's graph and managing to steady her own.

Six more contraptions appeared, and the cycle restarted. The more contraptions there were, the more difficult it was for Akane to grab and keep pulling the existent rings at the same time. It was obvious that she wouldn't be able to hold forever. Her shoulders were aching now.

When she had gathered twenty rings in her hands, her graph was almost gone. She was panting, trying to keep all the rings reunited. Finally, a last one appeared, this time from above. She looked at it, desperate, and tried to stretch one of her arms so she could grab it without letting go the rest. She failed.

Several of the rings slipped from her hand, crashing against the contraptions. The graph crashed as well. It didn't matter how much Akane pulled from the rings, it didn't move. An alarm sounded, and the piston over Miyata's body descended, crushing the corpse to a pulp and spraying Akane with blood.

Another alarm sounded, and the piston descended over Akane. However, it didn't crush her. The lights went out in a very convenient moment, making the room all dark and stopping the piston, but not before the piston struck Akane hard on her head. The Chemist fell to the floor, unconscious, and bleeding profusely.

* * *

The rest of the graduates had watched until the moment the screen turned dark. They heard an odd sound, though, but none of them could figure out what it was. The courtoom was pretty dark as well. Several of the graduates gathered close to each other, still afraid after everything they had seen during the last twenty minutes.

-"What? What? Whaaaaat?! What kind of Deus Ex Machina was that? I won't let this stay like this"- Monobear left the courtroom in a hurry. Shortly after that, the lights returned, but the screen didn't turn on.

-"Do you think she's alive?"- Hikasa whispered to nobody in particular.

-"I doubt it. Monobear wouldn't let somebody escape unhurt. If she isn't dead, surely she'll be dead shortly"- Kudo replied grimly.

The graduates started to leave the courtroom. Toriumi and Yukio stared into the screen until everybody else had left, hoping they'd glance at Akane's possibly alive body. When it was clear it wouldn't turn on again, they left the room, distraught.

* * *

Akane wished she could get rid of her head. The pain was unbearable. The lights had returned.

She groaned aloud, crying, and lifted herself from the floor. She touched her head, and contemplated the blood that stained her hand. She was really bleeding a lot. Not only that, she was also dizzy and couldn't walk straight, no matter how much she tried.

The room around had changed. The piston that had crushed Miyata was mercifully still covering him, but now the platform had been integrated onto a floor, and a door had appeared on one of the walls. She wobbled all the way to the door, crying in pain.

The steep hallway behind it was pretty dark. The wounded Chemist was forced to grab onto the walls to slowly ascend. After ascending for what felt like an eternity, she reached leveled floor again. She glanced around, another completely empty room. There was another door. Before she could move, the Mastermind came out of the shadows, behind her, raising a heavy steel pipe.

The last thing Akane heard was what she thought was her skull cracking under the blow of the pipe.

* * *

Outside, several miles away of the shelter, three people were gathered around a computer terminal.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Veritas.jpg.html)

The oldest one of the group, an elderly man, tinkered with the keyboard. A much younger woman behind him approached.

-"Nothing yet?"- Valkyrie asked, glancing at the monitor. There were several letters, describing commands.

-"Nothing. The signal can't enter the shelter"- Veritas replied. Valkyrie didn't seem fazed by the bad news.

-"Don't fret, Master. At some point Volkos will slip up"-

-"I know. At some point I'll manage to hijack Monobear and end this travesty"- he continued typing. The signal once again failed to enter the shelter. –"It's all that damned concrete. If the shelter hadn't been underground, this would have been over already"-

-"I doubt Volkos did it on purpose"- a third person, Vieiras, commented –"Being smart was never the main trait…"-

-"Let's forget about Volkos for now. How's the converting process going, Valkyrie?"-

-"It's almost complete. He has quite a resistant mind, no wonder why the AI hadn't penetrated yet"-

-"And it's a very undeveloped AI, too. That makes it even harder"- Vieiras pointed. Veritas rubbed his chin

-"With this second dose of the Enoshima AI, any qualms he has should be broken down. I can't believe one of our fellow Main Board members resisted the first and supposedly unique dose"-

-"Despairingly strange, isn't it?"- Valkyrie smiled.

-"Very"-

-"I still can't believe Oyama managed to steal that AI 1.0 from the SHSL Despair"- Vieiras said

-"We all know it was because they didn't care. It was a very basic version, virtually useless by itself. It's only good to turn us into what we are now"- Veritas remarked, and typed once again into the terminal. Valkyrie left to check on the state of the Main Board member receiving the AI, while Vieiras left to give instructions to the followers. Veritas was alone in the room now.

_At some point, I'll get the signal in…and Volkos will pay._

**END OF CHAPTER 2**


	16. Chapter 3: Stakes Over The Heart - (Ab)normal Days I

To say that Yukio wasn't in the best of moods after the trial would be an understatement.

The truth is that he could care less about Miyata's death. Even if he had tried to reveal everything about the people who trapped the graduates in the shelter, it was because he had been betrayed himself. If it hadn't been for that, then the CEO would have left everybody to die.

That by itself got rid of any shred of sympathy the Assistant could feel towards Miyata.

But what had made him feel so horrible was Ogata's death. The Chemist hadn't done anything wrong, only the damn bear cared about something as simple as entering the office. Yet now there were almost sure probabilities that Ogata was dead.

It's true that they hadn't seen the dead body, thanks to the convenient blackout, but he was willing to bet his own head that Ogata was crushed to a pulp.

It was a shame. Ogata was the only female graduate he had started to consider as trustable. The rest had varying grades of reliability, but he could see that the former Chemist was a person whose only intention was to save everybody. She, along with Toriumi and Matsukaze, had managed to save everybody's asses twice. Yukio groaned, remembering how he had argued smugly with Ogata about how Monobear had killed the Detective. If she hadn't managed to defeat him, then he may as well not be alive in that moment.

Toriumi was a different matter. He had to admit she was pretty smart, but he didn't like her. There was something really negative and dark about her. Oh, he did know about darkness. After the last years, he had learned to recognize it.

After all, in the recent times, the Super High School Level Despair was its embodiment.

-ooooo-

The force of habit woke Yukio up at 4:00 AM. During his short career as a law star (or more like the tail of the comet, whether he liked it or not), he had to wake up early, as the day was pretty short for everything he had to do. Being trapped in a shelter, even if free time and boredom was the only thing that was waiting for him, didn't change it.

He really liked those two hours. A time for himself, to just walk around and eat something or read. Maybe he could eat something good before Chiba gave him one of her meager rations. With a warm meal in mind, he entered the cafeteria.

Then first thing he saw was the bloody body in front of the pantry door.

He gasped aloud, taken by surprise. Once he had recovered enough, he ran to what seemed like a dead body. The blue hair and the lab coat made it unmistakable. It was Akane Ogata, her body pretty much not crushed.

However, her head was practically dark pink tinted. It was obvious that she had suffered serious head wounds and the now coagulated blood stained her skin and hair. Her pulse was really weak, and her breathing was labored. She needed help, and now.

-"Help! Help!"- he ran to the bedrooms hall, and knocked madly on Hikasa's door until he heard a grunting coming from inside. Soon the Weightlifter opened the door.

-"What do you want?! Do you know what time is it?!"- His first reaction was to yell, but he softened when he saw how freaked out Yukio was. The Assistant explained the situation in few words. Hikasa paled, and hurried towards the cafeteria. The ruckus made also made Chiba come out of her room.

-"Why are you two so noisy?"- she didn't waste time following them. Once she entered and saw Ogata's unconscious body, she hurried to verify the vital signs.

-"Uh, I already did that…"-

-"Shut up"- she leaned over Ogata, and soon sighed in relief. –"She's breathing by herself, but…"- she slapped Ogata hard. Yukio flinched at the sudden action, while Hikasa watched. Ogata opened her eyes, looked around unfocused and then closed them again. Chiba once again slapped the Chemist, having the same reaction again.

-"C-Can you stop d-doing that?!"- Yukio pushed Chiba back.

-"Calm down! I was checking response to pain"-

-"Couldn't you have pinched her or prickled her with a needle?"-

-"There are no needles around here"-

-"Do you know about medicine?"- Hikasa asked, his voice faltering.

-"No, I don't, but I have seen some nurses testing for pain reaction. She's completely unresponsive, and only opens her eyes when she feels pain. She's lucky she can breathe"-

-"Maybe the force of your slaps are what opens her eyes"- Yukio mumbled. Chiba either didn't listen or ignored it.

-"Will she get better?"- The Assistant inquired. Chiba shrugged.

-"I…I don't know. But we can't leave her lying around the cafeteria, can we? Hikasa-kun, please take her to the infirmary"- Chiba instructed, standing up. Hikasa approached, picked Ogata and threw her over his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes.

-"What? Infirmary?"- Yukio felt like he had missed something

-"That reminds me, where the hell were you? We had to explore the new areas without your assistance!"- Chiba chastised him. Yukio remembered how supposedly if they survived the trial, a new area would open. _So this infirmary place comes from there…_

They had arrived to the place where the shutters in the second area had been before. Now the gaping passageway that led downstairs was the only way to go. Hikasa carefully descended, without dropping Ogata. Yukio followed, looking around.

-"Did you find anything useful?"- He asked to the Strategist. She frowned.

-"If you mean something to get out of here or to catch the Mastermind, then no. But there's certainly a myriad of new rooms now"-

-"Like what? I know the infirmary is one, but what else is there?"-

-"There's also a gym. It should be good enough for us, but Hikasa-kun over there was disappointed with the lack of dumbbells. I think it is better that way, no crushing people's heads with dumbbells…"-

-"Oh…"- Yukio knew exactly what she meant. How not to know? The moment he had heard about it in the broadcast he had been horrified. Reiji liked more the trial of that murder than anything that came before or after it.

-"There's also a workshop. It has lumber, a lot of useful tools, and I'm sure we could make some sort of plan based on stuff in there"-

-"Didn't seem like anything special to me"- Hikasa commented from ahead

-"And there's a leisure room! Finally there are other things to do besides looking at each other's faces. I think that boredom could actually be one of our biggest enemies, as it would only make us long more the outside world, even if it is…you know"-

-"I know what you mean…"- Yukio didn't want to admit that at one point, while he had nothing to do, he had actually considered doing something drastic to get out.

-"You forgot about the maintenance room"- Hikasa said, opening and entering the infirmary

-"It's nothing special. Just a lot of fuses, pipes and what looked like a pool filter. Although I like the idea of there being a pool in here! Will we even be able to fill it with water?"- She pondered.

-"I hate to be the voice of reason here, but I think that maintenance room could be dangerous in some way"- Hikasa had laid Ogata in one of the few beds, and was now gathering bandages.

-"Dangerous? How?"-

-"How do you expect me to know?"- Hikasa glared at Yukio –"I don't have the mind of a criminal, but I'm sure that somebody malign would find an use to that room"-

Chiba and Yukio watched in silence how Hikasa wrapped Ogata's forehead and top of the head with bandages. The end result was clearly an amateur work, and it looked more as if she had been wearing a lot of toilet paper on her head, but that's all they could do

-"We should organize turns to watch over her. You know, to check she doesn't die"- Chiba stated –"She's clearly an easy target. Even if she's barely alive, if she dies I'm sure Monobear would do a trial"-

-"I wouldn't doubt that"- Hikasa muttered, looking at Ogata as if he were really sorry for her. Yukio remembered how the Chemist had accidentally put Hikasa on Monobear's punishing list, and thought the man would hold a grudge against her. Maybe he was bottling it up for when she woke up…if that ever happened.

-"Now let's go for breakfast. We're running out of food, so the rations will have to be even smaller"- Chiba directed them all to the cafeteria. Yukio groaned at the perspective of another meager meal.

-ooooo-

Chiba had the good sense of waiting until everybody was done eating before telling the graduates about Ogata's coma-like state. Toriumi was the first to stand up, excusing herself while she said she had to go to her bathroom. Chiba didn't fall for the obvious excuse, and made her sit again. She organized everybody so there were turns to watch over Ogata, and once she found out which graduates were prone to waking up to the slightest noise, she ordered them to take turns to sleep in the infirmary during the nights.

It was obvious that half of the population weren't exactly happy of having to tend to Ogata, whether it was by personal feelings or merely because they didn't want to, but Chiba's glares and orders shut them up,

-"Now that this unusual situation has been solved, let's continue with the more usual happenings here. The SHSL Despair, by example"- she continued

-"You call that a usual situation?"- Ginchiyo couldn't avoid asking. Chiba ignored her and kept going.

-"It's worth repeating that this SHSL Despair is a huge threat to everybody here. I'm sure that a person like this wouldn't doubt killing. In fact, I think there's a good chance that this foe is dead"-

-"Who was it? Sawashiro-san?"- Kudo asked –"She was the first to kill"-

-"You forget that she killed in self-defense. If I had to guess, I'd say the SHSL Despair was Saitou-kun"-

-"He didn't seem like a despairing person to me…"- the Filmmaker mumbled

-"Yeah, I think that if one was a despair agent it would be more visible. Nobody here strikes me as SHSL Despair"- Kudo replied

-"Either way, I think it's a good idea to keep your eyes open, just in case. This SHSL Despair is tricky, and could use any type of strategies to win over all of you. Watch your backs"- Chiba hummed, trying to think on the next thing to say –"Okay, we should talk too about what was revealed by Miyata-kun yesterday"-

-"There isn't much to talk. I'm sure that he told the truth, just to spite his group"- Yukio spat with hate

-"But why did Diavolo Avane trap us here? Why us?"- Yamaguchi asked what was bothering her the most –"What do we all have in common that made us the targets?"-

-"The only similarity I see between us is that we're all Hope's Peak graduates"- Kudo pointed –"Maybe that's the key to this. Maybe that was the reason to trap us here"-

-"You mean like the killing game in the school? Could Diavolo Avante have the same goal than SHSL Despair? Oh, no, wait…Miyata-kun had said they wanted to eradicate despair"- Reiji replied

-"No, he said something like…'they want to reform the world according to their own rules' or something, which would imply ending the World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident"- Yamaguchi remembered –"If I had to guess, I'd say that the only way to end it would be…to exterminate all the SHSL Despair. Then they could take control"-

-"They want to end despair by killing one single person and causing despair to fourteen more?"- Toyogushi had a tone of disbelief –"That's…no way that it's their plan"-

-"Either way it looks like Miyata was in cahoots with the Mastermind, that V-guy. He clearly said 'our people'."- Toriumi pushed her glasses up –"I think that marks him as a member of Diavolo Avante, maybe even a high-ranked member"-

-"But Miyata-kun didn't even like anybody, except…I think he tolerated Ogata-san…"- Sakurai trailed off, as if he were insinuating that Ogata had anything to do with Diavolo Avante.

-"No, he also liked me"- Kudo added –"Although that was only after I told him that I was the one who sent him half of the money he used to start his company"-

-"Then in matters of finding Miyata-kun's partner we're…at the start line"- Toyogushi sighed

-"No, we can't stop here!"- Curtis hit the table with his fist, as if it were his podium –"We need to keep the ball rolling!"-

-"Well said, Curtis-kun! And so I will keep it rolling!"- a different voice sounded from some point of the cafeteria. Everybody looked around, until Monobear climbed on the table. His presence dampened the already unstable mood.

-"What do you want?"- Toyogushi gritted his teeth

-"Oh, you know why I'm here. I want to see you bastards squirm while I give you once another of my wonderful motives!"-

-"Again? It has been less than twelve hours since Matsukaze-san died!"- Chiba protested. Monobear chuckled.

-"We need to work fast. We're running out of food, so our pacing will have to quicken! If you do your part, then this Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing will end sooner than expected"-

-"Ah, no, you won't. Nothing you tell will make us kill quicker"-

-"That's up to you. I'm only here to deliver these simple envelopes, here!"- He waved it in front of the Strategist, but he pulled it back when she tried to grab it –"But since I feel a very stuffy atmosphere of hate towards me, I'm going to leave them in your rooms"-

-"What's in those envelopes?"-

-"Oh, just a little thing I like to call 'some of your deepest secrets'"- Monobear said as if it weren't something important. Some gasped, while others got their guards up

-"And if none of us kill in twenty-four hours, you'll reveal them to the world"- Toyogushi bit on his chewing gum –"Good luck finding out there somebody out there who cares"-

-"Oh, I know nobody out there will care. That's the effect despair has, they only care for themselves and their despairingly charismatic leader. That's why I'm going to reveal your personal secrets to one person only!"-

-"How does that even work?"- Toriumi asked, genuinely concerned

-"Find it by yourself. Now I'm going to put these little secrets under your doors. Let the third motive start!"-

As soon as Monobear left, there was silence for a while. Finally Ginchiyo broke it. –"Nobody will kill for those secrets…right?"- She was visibly nervous

-"I think it depends-" Toyogushi replied –"Those with terrible secrets would be more willing to kill, I bet"-

-"Monobear is hurrying us now, hahahah!"- Yamaguchi giggled, amused –"I think this means the Mastermind is getting antsy, now that we know what group is behind this and we have a chance to find out their reasons"-

-"But we're really running out of food…"- Hikasa said softly.

-"It could be a mix of both situations. Now, I think we're done here. I'm going to explore the new rooms, okay?"- Yukio stretched and stood up, trying to seem unaffected. He went out of the cafeteria without looking back. Once he was out, he walked towards the bedrooms as cautiously as he could.

He indeed had a secret to hide, and would really like if it continued being a secret. Would he kill for it? He didn't think he would, but…who knows…maybe it would be necessary.

When he opened the door, he found the envelope. Dreading what he could find inside, he opened it and extracted the content slowly. A single sheet of paper was the only thing in the envelope, so he sat on the bed to read it.

It was different and much shorter than what he had expected.

_Takeshi Toyogushi let his own wife be killed by rioters_

_Mika Yamaguchi knows your secret_

There were only two lines in the paper, and none of them were his own secret. However, apparently he now knew something Toyogushi wouldn't have revealed willingly. Was it true, though? Yukio doubted that Monobear would lie in his motive. He hadn't lied so far, or at least he hadn't noticed any lies.

Yukio couldn't avoid wondering how Toyogushi had left his wife be killed. He hadn't even told anybody that he had been married, much less that she was dead and possibly because of something he did. Rioters…they only could be those Monobear-mask wearing people out there. Yukio gritted his teeth when he remembered the extent of the despair the bear represented.

For a moment Yukio considered talking to Toyogushi about it, but something in his mind convinced him to not to do it. What if it wasn't an accident and Toyogushi had…a more active part in his wife's death? Even if he didn't do it directly, he could still have done something so the rioters killed her. And if that's what happened, then the Stuntsman wouldn't doubt killing him.

The Assistant put the paper under the statue he had in his room, then his thoughts went to Yamaguchi. She now knew something about Yukio, and he was sure of what Monobear would reveal. Yukio decided that he would talk to Yamaguchi about it, and show that it didn't matter. It would be a serious blow on his pride, but that's what he thought was the correct thing to do.

When he got out of his bedroom to go talk to Yamaguchi, he saw several of the graduates entering their rooms. Reiji was going with Sakurai into the latter's room, Kudo and Hikasa were looking around nervously while opening their door, and Toyogushi peeked out of his room, stared at Yukio with a very pitiful expression. He knew that Yukio had in his hands the secret. Yuko made a mental note to talk to Toyogushi about it. The Stuntsman didn't seem like he would kill, but just in case, Yukio planned to talk in a public place, if possible.

_So this is Monobear's plan…he plans to break the trust between us. These are things we'd like to keep hidden, but now somebody else knows. Can we trust that person to keep it as a secret as well, or will he or she spread it around and possibly ruin one's reputation?_

_I really do need to talk to Yamaguchi_

He found the Fashion Designer in the cafeteria, drinking a cup of what seemed to be coffee. There was no envelope around. –"So…have you found out the secret yet, Yamaguchi-san?"-

-"No. I think I want to delay the revelation…after all; I don't need to see my own secret written to know it. I have lived with it for way too long already"- she said grimly.

Yukio knew that she had the impression the envelopes contained one self's secret, instead of somebody else's secret. He explained Yamaguchi what the envelopes really had, without saying she knew his. Yamaguchi paled, altered by the thought of somebody else knowing what she wanted to hide.

-"I have to go. See you later Ohmoto-kun"- she feigned calmness, but the speed she had when going out of the cafeteria revealed her unease. Yukio sighed, not having been able to talk to her what he wanted. Maybe at a later point it would be possible.

_Everybody will be altered. I should do something about it…maybe prod around and socialize. That should help, I need to distract myself too..._


	17. Chapter 3: Stakes Over The Heart - (Ab)normal Days II

Yukio wandered around aimlessly, trying to find somebody to talk with. Everybody seemed to be preoccupied with their own matters, whether it as being paranoid of their secrets being spread around, or trying to forget it. Most were so focused on it that Yukio preferred not to bother them.

After a while, he realized it was his time to watch over Ogata. He walked to that room, and entered. Nothing seemed to have changed, there laid Ogata, still immobile and with the lot of bandages over her head. He sat to her side and checked her pulse and breathing. _Good, she's still alive_

He twiddled with his thumbs, wondering if he'd be able to bring a book from the library and come back there. It wasn't like Ogata would suddenly die while he was away, right? However, he remembered that she was the weakest and easiest target now. If after the motive, somebody was thinking about killing, then maybe one of the other graduates would be watching the infirmary, waiting for him to come out. _You're overthinking it. Stop being so freaking paranoid!_

He sighed, and contemplated Ogata. –"Hey there, Akane-kun"- he had been calling her for her first name and with 'kun', even if they weren't that close. He didn't know exactly why. –"…Getting better?"-

'I sure am, Yukio-kun, thank you' he imagined she replied. _Now I'm imagining a comatose person's replies. I must be desperate_

-"Here we're not so good…Monobear revealed once another motive. Secrets, can you believe that? I don't see any envelope around here, maybe it's in your room"- for a moment he was tempted to search for her ID so he could enter her room, but his best judgment stopped him. –"Well, doesn't matter. It's better if you don't know"-

There was silence for a while, and then he continued. –"I got Toyogushi-san's secret. I…hadn't imagined something like what he did…but I shouldn't judge. I don't know the circumstances for…"- he stopped talking. Even if Ogata was unconscious, he didn't think it was right to say more about Toyogushi's secret.

More silence. He kept going, after gathering courage. –"Yamaguchi has mine. I don't really know her, so I don't know how I should feel. Aren't her type, models and all that, a bunch of gossipy people? I think they are. Then everybody in a radius of ten miles will know about it. I don't like that …

…Well, everybody except you. They won't tell somebody unconscious. But I think that if anybody had to know, besides me and Yamaguchi, it's you. I trust you, Ogata…Ogata-chan. So…let's start"-

Yukio took a deep breath, and looking at his shoes he started telling what he had been hiding from Ogata during the last two times they talked alone. –"There was once this kid, Yukio Ohmoto, known as the Super High School Level Law Master. And what a smart kid he was! Best grades of his class, all that jazz. He was such a good student; he got called to be part of the Administrative Council of Hope's Peak, as the one representing the Graduates. Yukio's twin brother, Reiji, celebrated this new step. He was the Super High School Level Law Assistant, but he was okay with that spot. He liked to help, not to be the star.

Yukio felt nervous. He was going to be part of something big! How not to be nervous? So, the first meeting was about the Reserve Department of Hope's Peak. You know, where all those talentless students pay to study at our school. 'Poor people', Yukio had thought, 'they need some help to make their life at Hope's Peak better'.

With those good intentions in mind, he made a big plan to give the Reserve Department some of the quality the main and public Hope's Peak had. Quite an ambitious plan, in my opinion. It would have put the Reserve Department in a position where their school life would have almost no difference, compared to the main! And it could help form bonds between the talent and the talentless.

However, Yukio was inexperienced and quite ignorant, but instead of doing the right thing, calling for help to make sure it all went alright, he crumbled over the pressure of the expectatives the Council had over him. He decided to do it all by himself.

There had never been before such a waste of cash like that before Yukio tried it. The money for a good bunch of the…studies the scientists at Hope's Peak was now gone, and there were no improvements in the Reserve Department.

…I don't want to say how or why, but…that's how it ended.

Yukio was crushed. He had failed epically. How could he show his face to the Council after that? With a meeting looking over his head, he let the panic go to his head. He talked with his brother, Reiji, and convinced him to impersonate him with the Council. He was sure he'd be expelled from the Council, and that it would end there.

Little did he expect that Reiji would tell the Council about his real identity, yet it all went okay. Yukio was quietly expelled, and they quickly filled the spot with Reiji, impressed by the twin's honesty. Yukio was actually happy for him.

Cue some months later. Yukio was working alone, and being pretty successful. Graduating at Hope's Peak really ensured success. Reiji spent a lot of his time being part of the Council, so they didn't see each other for quite some time.

One day Reiji came back. However, he had changed. He was bolder, daring and frankly a smug asshole. He came back to take over the job, as the Law Master.

Of course Yukio protested. He was the Law Master! But Reiji laughed, and said that it was wrong. The Law Master now was known as Reiji Ohmoto, and so the records of the school said. Yukio was horrified when his brother described what he had done.

He used the influence of his position in the Administrative Council to change over all the records to put himself as the Master and Yukio as the Assistant. And he didn't stop at that. He was so determined to cement his position that he contacted everybody we knew in the professional world about his change of status. And they all believed him and started treating him as the Master. I was the last person to know.

Don't get me wrong, he has abilities, but the reason he was an Assistant in the first place was because he didn't know how to use them to its worth, so the Assistant had to do all the job while Reiji took the credit for it. He stayed in the Council for a year, and left shortly before the massacre of the Student Council happened.

Why didn't Yukio rebel? Because Reiji held several threats over him. Such as taking all the money Yukio had earned to give it back to Hope's Peak, as atonement for the fail. And not only that, he'd also kick him out of the job, and make sure he never got another job in law. So practically, ruin his life.

…and maybe because despite it all Reiji was still his brother. His twin brother…and he didn't want to leave him alone.

That's how Reiji usurped everything Yukio had worked for, leaving him with next to nothing…"-

Yukio sighed, feeling somewhat better. –"I don't know which one is my secret. The horrible deal with the money, my former status as Law Master, or my sycophant attitude towards Reiji. But I really don't want everybody to know any of them…except you, now. And Yamaguchi.

Maybe someday when you're awake I'll tell you it all again. I really need you to listen.

Now that we're done with that, there are other things as well. I need to vent…"-

_I talked with Ogata-chan…well, with myself…for an hour more._

_I felt she and me were really close, more than simple friends. Maybe we're now what they call 'friends for life' or something like that_

-ooooo-

While Yukio was silent after getting all the burdens of his soul, temporally, Kudo entered.

The Philanthropist was surprised to see the Assistant there. –"Ohmoto-kun! What a surprise!"-

-"It was my turn"-

-"Yeah, but it was over now. I had expected you to have left as soon as it ended. Must be boring to be here without being able to do a thing, like reading a book or something"-

-"I'm with a friend. Besides, you don't have a book either"-

-"No, but I'm entertained enough just by taking care of Ogata-kun"- he declared, and sat in one of the other beds.

Yukio was somewhat amused by his words. –"How can you have fun with that?"-

-"That's how I always have been. I go help others and feel strangely…good. It's hard to describe, being able to solve a problem somebody has without expecting anything in payment"-

-"How considerate"- Yukio couldn't avoid feeling some pity for him. Nobody would respect Kudo enough despite all his help –"You were the SHSL Philanthropist, right? How did you come to be that?"-

-"Hmmmm…"- Kudo laid on the bed. –"I'm not sure. I grew in a tough place. We all relied on each other to survive, so I grew knowing that one always relied on somebody else. I just started helping around to anybody in my neighborhood. Sometimes I received stuff as a reward, sometimes it was just satisfaction, but there was one thing I always felt: some kind of tingly feeling all over me. It's hard to describe…"-

-"So you help others because of how you grew?"-

-"…To be honest, I think that isn't the main reason for this. Maybe what I pursuit the most is to feel good. To feel that sensation over and over again. It appeared at the slightest help I give, no matter what it is, but I quickly found out that the biggest efforts were the ones that gave me that buzz for longer. I started looking for more ways to help, after that"-

-"And what did you do to be recognized by Hope's Peak?"-

-"I'm not sure. The last thing I did before entering the school was collaborating on home building for homeless families after a flood."-

-"That's actually…surprisingly selfless"- Yukio admired Kudo's efforts, although the guy's next words showed what part of his goal behind it all was.

-"Yeah, it was, eh?"- He smiled –"I was high in that sensation for two weeks after that."-

Now the admiration was gone. He was starting to get uncomfortable by the greedy gleam in Kudo's eyes. _Well, as long as others benefit from it, it should be fine_

The Philanthropist looked at the comatose student. –"She looks real uncomfortable, doesn't she? Help me to move her until she's alright"-

_I spent time with Kudo tending to Ogata to the smallest details_

-ooooo-

Yukio was tired of being in the infirmary. He trusted that the next graduate to come would take care of her properly.

He entered the storage, looking for something entertaining for the next time he had to tend to her. He found Yamaguchi over there. For a moment he was relieved. Maybe now they'd be able to talk about Yukio's secret. He was itching to know what exactly she knew.

-"Yamaguchi-san, we need to talk"-

The Fashion Designer nodded without enthusiasm. She didn't look at Yukio, which he interpreted as she not knowing what to think about him.

-"Was the…revelation that bad?"-

-"…What're you talking about?"-

-"About my…my secret"- he wanted to hurry it up. Yamaguchi now looked at him at the eyes.

-"There's nothing to talk about yours"- her voice was blunt –"I'm more worried about mine"-

-"Why? What could you have to hide? We know a lot about you!"- Yamaguchi didn't reply –"Come on, what could you have done that warrants hiding it?"-

Yamaguchi didn't reply. Instead, she unzipped her coat and spread it around, revealing what was underneath. Yukio raised his eyebrows, surprised. Under the coat was an outfit that he certainly had seen before. Some memory jogging later, he remembered where he had seen it. It was almost identical to the outfit Junko Enoshima had been using at her reveal in the School Life of Mutual Killing. Sure, the skirt was a tad longer, there was no bow, and the black and white long socks Yamaguchi was wearing were the difference, but it was undeniable it was a very similar outfit.

-"I was Enoshima's student"- she stated.

-"Oh, we all already know that, Yamaguchi-san"- Yukio replied, a bit underwhelmed –"And none of us have treated you differently"-

-"…I know. But I can't avoid hiding it. I mean, yeah, I was older than her and I graduated long before she even was in high school, but it was thanks to Enoshima that I reached the peak of my career. This outfit I'm wearing was especially inspired and made for her, and I'm proud of it! But…"-she closed her coat again –"…you know how she turned out to be. People could think I'm not only her student in fashion matters, but in despair"-

-"Again, we all know that and none of us have treated you differently"-

-"I do know! I can't avoid feeling fearful…I don't want to talk more about this"-

-"Why did you come wearing that if you're so ashamed of it?"- he asked

-"I'm not ashamed of my work! I'm ashamed of what it represents now. And…it was the only clothes in my room, besides my coat. Copies and copies of this. Where did Monobear get them? They're supposedly unique"-

-"Monobear was controlled by her, so I suppose it's only natural he could access that girl's wardrobe"- Yukio tried to rationalize. Yamaguchi looked at him as if he had talked French.

-"Why would she keep her clothes in a shelter in middle of the city, silly?"-

-"Uuuuh…I didn't think this through. But the point is, don't be afraid to show yourself in that! None of us will judge you or think you're like Enoshima"-

-"I said I didn't want to talk more about this"- she replied coldly, and went towards the door. Before going out, she added –"But let me make this clear: I may have been Enoshima's underling in fashion, but I'm not her underling in despair. Don't get the wrong idea"- then she left.

_I wasn't planning to. And now I ruined my chance to talk to her about my secret, whatever it is. Waaaay to go, man_

_I was unable to spend time with Yamaguchi, but it was enough for me_

-ooooo-

Yukio went to bed, uneasy. He hadn't been able to talk to Yamaguchi, and Toyogushi spent all the afternoon and night locked in his room. When Yukio knocked on his door, he replied he wasn't in mood to talk. The Assistant had to do a lot of effort to not to make conclusions based on that.


	18. Chapter 3: Stakes Over The Heart - (Ab)normal Days III

Yukio once again woke up at the early hours of the morning. He was feeling horrible, as if he had stayed awake during the whole night. He knew that it was his unease. _I need to stop thinking about that, fuck!_

After he got dressed on his suit and ribbon for the day, he went to the cafeteria. Much to his surprise, he saw Toyogushi there. The Stuntsman wasn't really a morning person, as far as he knew. Normally he would sleep until breakfast time, claiming that if he could, he'd sleep for longer. He soon noticed somebody's presence. Toyogushi recognized the Assistant.

-"Hey there"- he greeted somberly. Yukio just waved. Toyogushi's eyes were bloodshot, and in front of him there was a bottle that suspiciously resembled some sort of whisky. Could it have come from the storage?

-"Ohmoto-kun, why are you up so early?"-

-"It's normal for me"- he replied. Toyogushi mulled what he was going to say.

-"This is killing me, Ohmoto-kun. Your brother has my secret…there's one thing that I'd rather hide, and he has it. What will he think?"-

Yukio noticed that Toyogushi thought he was Reiji. Maybe this was his chance to know more abou Toyogushi's secret. He had tried his best from refraining to think anything bad about Toyogushi, but how longer would he hold his suspicions?

-"I'm sure that whatever it is it can't be that bad, Toyogushi-san"- Yukio said, trying to seem placating.

-"I know the truth, but I'm sure he doesn't. Those envelopes were pretty vague"-

-"What's the truth, then?"-

Toyogushi looked at the wall, as if he expected it to reply back. –"I want to keep it as a secret. But…Ohmoto-kun, do me a favor. Tell your brother to not to judge me. I had no other choice for what I did"-

-"But what did you do?"-

-"…Ask him. I won't say it. But it wasn't my intention! I remember that day; anybody in my place would have done the same!"-

It was like talking to a wall. There was no way Toyogushi would go into more detail, but he claimed that his wife being killed by rioters wasn't intentional. What's even more, he claimed it was a very tough situation, apparently. Yukio felt some pity for Toyogushi. It was obvious that he was feeling really guilty and fearful of his wife's death being known. The otherwise somewhat cheerful Stuntsman was now getting smashed, there was no other meaning.

Seeing him like that gave Yukio the resolve to do something to stop everybody from moping around, including himself. No more following Yamaguchi around to ask her about what she thought of him now. It depended on all of them to change the morbid atmosphere around, and he was going to make an effort to do it!

A distraction! Something that actually worked, but what could he or anybody do to keep everybody's minds busy? There wasn't much. For a moment he considered the games in the leisure room. With that plan, he walked all the way to the leisure room, being amazed at what he saw.

There was a huge variety of possibilities there. The first thing he saw was a pool table. He squealed, happy, and grabbed one of the cues. Maybe a pool tournament could work! But what if there were graduates who weren't interested in playing pool? The more people who could play, the better.

He got the same conclusion from the dart set, several other games, and a pinball machine. He needed an activity where everybody could take part in, preferably at the same time. Then he noticed the TV on the corner. He turned it on, doubting there was going to be signal, being underground and all. As he expected, everything there was to see was static. He stared at the static for a while, wondering the purpose of the TV.

When he turned it off, he noticed the DVD contraption near the TV. If there was that, then maybe there was also content that could be used there! A movie would be a great idea. He searched around the leisure room with renewed hopes. His efforts were soon rewarded when he found a box with around thirty movies, all of them seemingly new copies. It was perfect! Maybe he could organize some sort of movie day.

When everybody was gathered after breakfast, he proposed the plan to the graduates. Everybody was surprised that there was such thing as a box of movies in the shelter. Those who had explored the leisure room when it was opened wished they had seen it.

-"What type of movies are there?"- Sakurai asked, barely containing his excitement.

-"Anything you want! Horror, adventure, action, whatever you name it, you have it!"-

-"It's so awesome! It has been so long since I watched a movie!"- Yamaguchi clapped joyfully.

-"There's one I'd like to watch"- Hikasa said, taking Ginchiyo's hand. The Filmmaker blushed –"Is there a copy of The Flight of the Red Crane?"-

-"Oh, there is! It could be a nice start. What better than something made by the former Super High School Level Filmmaker?"- Yukio replied cheerily. Ginchiyo covered her face with her hands, flustered but happy.

-"But you say it's just a TV. Do you think that's good for all of us to watch?"- Curtis pointed. The enthusiasm diminished at this obstacle. However, Chiba soon found a solution.

-"I think there's a big screen in the conference room. If we can connect the DVD player to that screen, we could have our own improvised cinema"-

-"It could work"- Yukio agreed with Sakurai and Curtis to set everything up for the movie day –"We'll all meet at the conference room at 2:00 PM. Until then, hold your breath until it's time!"- The graduates left the cafeteria in really high moods. Yukio himself was feeling giddy, for the first time in quite some time.

It was funny that everybody was so excited at the perspective of watching movies. Something like that would have caused some positive reactions if it had been while the world was okay, but now, during the despair event, it was a novelty. Who knows when it was the last time the rest had watched a movie, but it was nice to remember the old and simpler times.

Sakurai, Curtis and Yukio entered into the leisure room. The latter two started unplugging the DVD player and talking about the movie day, while Sakurai lazed around, browsing through the contents of the movie box.

-"Sakurai-kun, stop that and bring that box"- Curtis said while exiting the leisure room. The other two graduates followed him until they reached the conference room. Yukio removed the curtains of the far end, revealing a very big screen embedded on the wall. Sakurai plugged the DVD player and adjusted everything so it could work.

-"But what about the sound?"- Yukio pointed. Curtis inserted one of the movies into the DVD player. Soon deafening sounds filled the conference room. It was working! –"Aaaugh! Turn it off!"- Curtis screamed, covering his ears. Sakurai managed to turn the volume off until it reached a level where it wouldn't tear off one's eardrums.

-"It's all settled!"- Yukio announced proudly. It was all ready for the movie day, now it was only matter of waiting until it was time to start. Curtis and Sakurai left the conference room, leaving Yukio alone.

_Now what to do…_

-ooooo-

-"…and everybody were really excited Ogata-chan! I finally feel like I did something right"-

The only thing Yukio could think to do was to announce the good news to Ogata's comatose body. Toriumi, at the other side of the room, frowned at his ridiculous behavior.

-"She can't hear you, you know"- she said

Yukio growled in response. The Tutor had spent the last minutes trying to push Yukio out of the infirmary, with the excuse that it was her time with Ogata, as if the Chemist were some kind of toy children needed to fight for. At the end, Yukio had managed to stay and Toriumi had to contain her annoyance.

-"I'm sure she's be really happy too, if she were awake"-

-"When she awakes, she'll watch movies too, okay? There's all the time of the world!"-

-"…Do you really think she'll wake up?"- Yukio muttered, trying not to think about the possibility of Ogata remaining comatose or dying.

-"She will! I know her much better than you ever will. She's my best friend here"- she remarked with pride in her voice –"She'll fight for her own life! I'm willing to bet anything that she'll be standing on her own feet before any death happens"-

It was nice to see that Toriumi had such faith on her friend, but Yukio had a more realistic view of the situation. The chances of Ogata waking up intact were very slim. A part of him wanted to rub that fact on Toriumi's face, but the other one took pity for her and refrained from doing it.

Besides, he had the feeling that all her faith was just a state of denial. He was sure that she actually knew that Ogata was as good as dead, but she stayed by her friend's side because it made her feel better.

-"I don't know her as well as you do, but I do agree that she…she'll wake up"-

-"Say it with more conviction!"- Toriumi demanded –"Akane will wake up!"-

Yukio and Toriumi each said several times that Ogata would get better, and pretty soon. Yukio didn't feel so positive, though. He had already accepted the possibility of her death, but he also wanted to continue coming to talk to her.

-ooooo-

Yukio looked at his watch. _Twenty minutes for the movies._ The atmosphere in the cafetería was the nicest he had seen during his stay into the shelter. People talked happily, although not everybody was there. A lot of people had high expectations for the day, and if everything went alright, Yukio was sure this meant that everybody would be united enough to discard the idea of killing.

-"That's one big smile you have, Ohmoto-kun"- Chiba approached.

-"I'm in pretty good mood"-

-"I would have never thought of the idea of doing a movie day"- she commented –"I may be the best at military tactics and strategies, but it's obvious that in social matters I'm way behind others"- her tone was of admiration. Yukio felt even better. The only thing he wished was that Ogata could see what he had done. Even if she couldn't, he was sure that she'd be proud.

. Yukio and Chiba had started to converse amicably when the lights of the cafeteria started to flicker. Then seconds later, a very odd sound filled the cafeteria and the lights turned off. As it was an underground shelter with no way to the outside world, the artificial light was the only illumination they had. Without them everything would be dark, no matter what time it was.

Some alarmed whispers filled the hall, the former atmosphere now gone.

-"What the hell is going on?"- Chiba shouted

-"It's a blackout. Damn, how are we going to watch movies now?"- a masculine voice said. Another one, filled with obvious fear, talked.

-"This could be a strategy from a possible killer!"-

This gave Yukio a really bad feeling. _No, no, not now!_

-"Everybody gather here! Follow my voice! Hug each other!"- Chiba shouted, trying to gather everybody in the same spot. A noise resounded. One of the graduates had crashed against a table.

-"Oh, fuck!"-

-"Oh God, I'm going to be stabbed…stay away of me, all of you!"-

-"Don't fall into panic!"- Yukio screamed. He was sure he was more afraid tan most.

Then, as sudden as it happened, the lights came back. Yukio blinked a few times, disorientated, and looked around to assess the situation. The graduates in the cafeteria seemed to all be intact. None of them was bleeding or collapsing, nor there were any traces that anybody had died. There were less graduates than before, though. Only Chiba, Yukio, Yamaguchi and Toyogushi were there. Yukio was sure that before the blackout there were several more and that Yamaguchi wasn't around at that time.

-"Is everybody alright?"- Yamaguchi asked. Everybody nodded, unsure. Chiba examined every spot of the cafeteria with a grim expression, and peeked into the pantry and the storage.

-"Everything seems to be in order…"- she mumbled after her investigation.

-"What could have caused the blackout?"- Toyogushi said –"Could it have been just a temporal malfunction?"-

-"Most likely"- Yukio replied, not entirely convinced

-"Don't rush to conclusions unless you have a reason for that"- Chiba said, knowing very well what had been going through Yukio's mind. The Assistant was indeed suspecting foul play –"Now let's meet with everybody in the conference room, as if nothing had happened"- she ordered, leading everybody out.

_Chiba-san is right. There_ _'s no reason to think anything bad happened. Everybody is okay_

While they walked towards the conference room, Yukio calculated that the blackout must have lasted only around five minutes or so. That was definitely not enough time to do anything like killing and hiding the body or anything. Besides, it all being dark wouldn't be an advantage for a culprit. A ray of light would have been noticeable, unless it all happened in a secluded place. Unless there were night goggles in the storage, which seemed really unlikely to him.

When Yukio and the others reached the entrance to the conference room, they found most graduates in the narrow hall, a couple of them with their ears pressed onto the closed door. The people around had an uneasy expression on their faces.

-"Hey guys, what's up?"- Yamaguchi greeted. Curtis told her to be quiet. Ginchiyo, who had been listening onto the door, stepped back, with a clear alarmed expression.

-"I was right. Somebody is fighting in there!"- She announced.

-"What? Fighting?"- Toyogushi asked. They ignored him, and they started trying to force it open.

-"Don't just stand there! Come here and help!"- Hikasa shouted, slamming himself against the door. Yukio and Chiba joined into the efforts. They all fought. The noises coming from the inside of the room started to be louder. The louder those noises were, the more desperate people were.

The door creaked. –"It's working! Keep going!"- Chiba shouted. They continued, with renewed spirits. Suddenly, the noises inside the conference room stopped. Everybody stopped trying to force the door and instead listened inside for a few seconds. Nothing happened. After a few seconds, Hikasa continued pushing against the door; everybody took it as their cue to continue.

Not hearing anything coming from inside was worse than hearing the noises of the fight. Yukio's mind went straight to the worst case scenario. _No! There_ _'s no reason to think something happened. Don_ _'t think about that if there_ _'s nothing pointing to it!_ He continued scolding himself in his mind until they finally managed to force the door open.

When the doors fully opened, there were finally enough reasons for Yukio's mind to jump to the worst scenario possible. And it wasn't even needed. It was already in front of his eyes.

One meter above the ground, pinned to the screen on the back wall with what seemed like a steel stake through the chest, fresh blood around his mouth and with the eyes wide open, was a dead body.

And it belonged to none other than Masashi Sakurai, former Super High School Level Good Luck.


	19. Chapter 3: Stakes Over The Heart - Abnormal Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally made the concept art for each character. They have been added in the first chapter. Kinda wonky (illustration definitely isn't one of my fortes, hah), but I think that they're clear enough to show the idea of the physical appearance of each character.
> 
> Oh well!

–"A body has been discovered! After a short period of investigation, we'll start the Trial!"-

The reactions were pretty lukewarm. Yukio couldn't avoid noticing that everybody limited themselves to taking a deep breath and looking away. He himself reacted the same way.

For a moment he remembered people's reactions in the last two deaths. It had been the same thing. Had the life in the despaired world desensitized them to the deaths they could see? Unless they were close to each other or something.

The Assistant walked to the front, as if he were in a dream, always looking at the stake on the victim's chest. His mind registered the ridiculous feeling that Sakurai's death had been done just to inconvenience him and ruin the movie day, but he did know that it was more likely to have been related to the motive given by Monobear.

Sakurai knew a secret. And it had been bad enough for somebody to kill.

-"What happened here?"- Reiji entered the conference room, screaming –"I heard the announce…oh God!"- He stopped once he reached the stage and the screen. The Law Master looked for a few seconds, and then closed his eyes.

-"To think this all happened just at the other side of the door…and we all listened to it…"- Ginchiyo said softly

-"We should have forced the door open quicker!"- Toyogushi scolded everybody, but his words made Hikasa notice something.

-"Wait a second...the door was locked. Then Ginchiyo-chan listened to the fight happening, and we all tried to open it while Sakurai was being killed, right?"-

-"Weren't you there when it happened?"- Yamaguchi crossed her arms, looking around the stage.

-"Yes. So if we were all forcing the door, then how did the culprit get out of here?"- The Weightlifter said. His words made everybody start thinking about that matter.

-"Maybe the culprit was still inside and took advantage of the situation to blend between the rest of you"- Reiji theorized. Hikasa negated it.

-"I remember that there were five of us here: Curtis-kun, Ginchiyo-chan, Toriumi-kun, Kudo-kun and me. Then another four arrived while we were forcing the door: Toyogushi-kun, the Ohmoto-kun with the green ribbon, Yamaguchi-san and Chiba-san. In fact, the only person I didn't see until after the room opened was…you"- Hikasa looked at Reiji suspiciously. The Law Master continued looking directly to the Weightlifter's accusing stare.

-"No, wait!"- Ginchiyo interrupted –"I saw Reiji-kun entering the room right now. I saw him coming from the hall. He wasn't locked in here"- Hikasa listened to Ginchiyo's words, and sighed in acceptance.

-"Are you all done? We're in a time restraint here!"- A known voice resounded. Yukio turned around and saw Monobear. The headmaster was tapping his foot impatiently. –"I must give you people the Monobear File #3 so you all can continue your investigation. Take this!"- Yukio received his file and peeked at it while Monobear gave the rest their files.

** Monobear File #3 **

_Victim: Masashi Sakurai_

_Location of Body: Conference Room_

_The death is believed to have been almost instantaneous. There were no signs of drugs or anything similar._

Yukio looked at the file with a puzzled expression. It had less information than the two files he had seen before. If he remembered right, the other two murders had the cause of death and the time of death included in the file. _What does this mean?_

-"This is oddly uninformative. Was this always like this?"- Hikasa looked at Yukio, expecting for a reply. The Assistant explained what the file lacked. –"So no time of death or cause of death, eh? Well, I suppose that it's because it's obvious. He was killed by the stake and we all heard when it happened"-

-"But would Monobear really not include the information just because it's obvious?"- Toriumi gave her opinion –"In the first death the cause of death was obvious but the time of death was unknown. In the second death the cause of death was unknown but the time of death could have been known just by asking around"-

Hikasa shrugged –"Maybe he was just lazy"-

_I have the feeling there was another reason, but what…?_

-"We can't limit ourselves to just stand here wondering about the file"- Kudo remarked, while Toriumi nodded –"There must be other clues around here"- after looking around, Kudo suggested that retrieving the body could be good. Hikasa carefully grabbed the body through the armpit in one hand, and the stake in the other hand, and pulled, spilling some blood around. Something that was behind Sakurai's body fell. He deposited the body on the ground.

-"This is definitely steel"- Hikasa examined the stake. There was nothing special about it –"Where did the culprit find this, though?"-

** Stake **

_A steel stake long enough to pin Sakurai's body to the screen. Really pointy on one point, and serrated diagonally on the other point_

-"Hey, this fell from behind"- Yukio got on the stage and to the screen, and picked up the flat object. –"What's this…?"-

-"Seems like plastic to me"- Ginchiyo had approached to observe what the Assistant had found –"The color remind me of the chairs"-. Yukio looked at the chairs that filled the conference room. Indeed, the color was exactly the same, and when Yukio examined one more closely, it was definite that it was the same material. He started examining each chair strewn around near the stage, until he found one that was broken. The hole was exactly the same than the piece of plastic behind the body.

_Why was a piece of chair pinned just behind the body?_

** Piece of Chair **

_A big and irregular piece of plastic, coming from one of the chairs of the conference room. Found behind the body and skewered by the stake as well_

** Chairs **

_The chairs of the conference room. They're stackable. One of the chairs strewn around is broken_

It was at that moment that Yukio noticed the odd arrangement the struggle had left in the conference room. He was going to comment that, but then a noise of disgust sounded behind him.

-"This is so gross…!"- Hikasa had turned the body around –"His back is carbonized!"- Yukio ran to check what Hikasa meant. Effectively, most of Sakurai's back was charred. In several places, the remains of the clothes blended to the black remains of his back. He swore he could see blotches of pink and red among the black. It was a pretty gruesome sight.

-"How did that happen? Maybe it was when he was pinned to the screen?"-

-"I don't think that's possible. I'm not sure, but I think that it'd have charred all the way to the front. This is a steel stake, so the electricity would have gotten to the front as well"- Toriumi replied, fiddling with her glasses.

-"So the culprit could have been electrocuted as well?"- Chiba asked

-"Definitely. But I think it's impossible that this screen would pass enough voltage to fry one's back like that"-

-"This seems like an important detail…and a very odd one"- Curtis commented. Yukio looked at him in annoyance. _Is everybody going to clutter around the body?_ He didn't remember everybody gathering in the crime scene like this in the other two deaths. Maybe they were starting to get used to the deaths, or were feeling more contributive since Ogata wasn't awake.

-"There's also the matter of the bruises"- Chiba said. Yukio questioned her about what she meant. –"We found that at several points including the face, Sakurai's body had bruises"-

-"Again, Chiba-san, it is not a mystery! There was a fight here, remember?"- Ginchiyo said, impatiently. Chiba sighed, not convinced. Yukio felt inclined to agree with Ginchiyo.

** State of the Body **

_Most of the back is charred. It also has several bruises, possibly as a result of a struggle_

-"Is there anything else unusual about the body?"- Yukio asked, looking at Toriumi. She replied that there was nothing else to note. _If she says it, then it must be true_

Yukio stood up and focused again on the remains of the chairs. The back rows were intact; the first three rows of chairs were strewn around. The second and third rows were in a lot of disarray, but the first row was different. They were still thrown around, but they were very close to each other. What's more, all of them pointed to the same direction. The broken chair was in the direct end of the first row.

_Well this is odd …for a fight_

** Signs of a Struggle **

_The first three rows of chairs are in disarray. The first one has all chairs close to each other, pointing to the same direction. The second and third ones are strewn around randomly_

Yukio walked around, focusing on the chairs, and trying to see if there was something else that could point towards how the fight ensued. What he found wasn't what he expected, though.

On the floor and among the chairs, there was a pool cue. Yukio looked at it, intrigued, and picked it up. It was made of a resistant wood, but despite that it was halfway broken. That wasn't the only strange thing on the pool cue. Near the tip of the cue there was a long string tied. Yukio grasped the string, and looked how the cue dangled from the string.

_How did this get from the leisure room to here? Did the culprit bring it? Then what for?_

** Pool Cue **

_A sturdy pool cue. Halfway broken. It has a long string tied on an end. Found among the chairs_

-"Yukio, I need your opinion about a matter"- Reiji had approached him. Yukio raised his eyebrows, surprised. This was the first time Reiji was doing the effort to investigate by himself. Normally he relied on Yukio doing the entire job, thinking included.

-"Uh, sure"- he followed Reiji to the body. Most of the graduates had already left it alone and were starting to leave to check other places, so they were now alone on the stage. Reiji crouched to the side of the dead body. –"What is it, Reiji?"-

-"Tell me, if I skewered you with this stake, what would happen?"- He grabbed the stake and lunged at Yukio. The Assistant was caught off-guard, but Reiji stopped his hand before he killed Yukio.

Yukio swallowed the urge to insult Reiji's mother. –"I-I I would, I, I'd die"- he stammered, very shocked. Reiji rolled his eyes.

-"Yes, you'd die, but what else?"-

-"Eeeh..."- Yukio took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Once he cleared his mind, he saw an inkling of what Reiji was hinting. –"I'd bleed. That's what you mean! Blood!"-

-"Exactly. The Prefecture of Kyoto vs Delacroix. Woman stabbed in the chest with a katana. Remember the police report, specifically the part about the blood?"-

-"It was along the lines of 'the weapon of the crime pierced the lungs, causing the victim to cough up blood'. That fits here. Look at the blood around his mouth"-

-"There was something else as well, about the amount of blood in the crime scene: 'There was a…'"- Yukio interrupted before Reiji finished the sentence.

-"'…a pool of blood around the body, undoubtedly caused by the mortal wound'. Yeah! I see now! You're hinting that there's a curious lack of blood here!"-

-"Yes. That's exactly what I mean"-

Yukio examined the area where the body was pinned. Not even the screen was stained. The floor near it only had a few drops, and a blotch from when Hikasa had removed the stake. _It's definitely unusual_

-"Monobear!"- The Assistant shouted. He called for the bear a few times more, until he finally decided to make its presence in front of Yukio.

-"Did you caaaaaaall?"- He said mockingly.

-"Monobear, are you hiding anything related to the blood? There wasn't any internal bleeding or anything as obscure or stupid as that, right?"-

-"Nope! All the blood you see here is all the blood this bastard lost!"-

-"So there indeed is a lack of blood…okay, thanks. You may go now"- Yukio pointed at the door. Monobear went away, grumbling about ungratefulness and how Yukio didn't appreciate everything he did for him. –"It's clear now! There's definitely something odd here"-

-"Told you"- Reiji smiled smugly.

-"I'm actually impressed"- Yukio said, then added with a lot of rancor –"You normally don't notice this kind of details"-

The tone of his words didn't go unnoticed. He narrowed his eyes –"I notice a lot of things, dear brother. I just choose not to show I do"- and then he left the conference room. Now Yukio was alone.

_…Reiji, why are you acting so…strange?_

** Lack of Blood **

_Despite the wound, there's a lack of blood. The only traces are blood around the mouth and a few drops on the floor_

Yukio decided that there was nothing else to look at. He gave one last look at the body, hoping that Sakurai felt in peace. He then looked up, as if he were going to do a plea to the heavens. This movement let him see something he hadn't noticed during all the days he had been in the shelter.

There was an air vent on the ceiling. Yukio wondered where it connected. It seemed like its function was to ventilate the conference room, but he wasn't going to suppose things without checking first. From what he saw, it went straight to who knows where. He could see a light at the end.

With that in mind, he exited the conference room. After getting a piece of paper and pen, he scribbled a map of the first section. He had been there long enough to know its layout. Once he was done, he went towards the second section, and visited each room, drawing its exact position. When he entered the garden, he drew it, and noticed that it overlapped with the conference room. Not completely, but it did. Yukio put the map in his pocket, and searched for the air vent. Soon he found it in a corner, on the floor. Effectively, when looking down through it he could see some light.

_Interesting…I could go down through there…but barely. It's an interesting quirk about the layout; the garden connecting to the conference room…it could mean something, right?_

** Ventilation Chute **

_A chute connecting the garden with the conference room. Big enough for me to go through it, but it's doubtful anybody else could._

-"Now what? I already checked everything in the conference room and doubt I'll find more. Where else could I check?"- He said aloud to no one in particular. He searched in his pocket and took out an old recorder. It was a technique that had helped him in the past to organize his thoughts. He pressed the button to record and talked about everything he had seen so far. At the end of his spiel, he listened to the recording, but no new thoughts came to him. It was still a mess for him. He took out the cassette and put a new one in its place.

** Recorder **

_Just a recorder I had in my pocket. Nothing special_

Yukio sighed, and stood up, wanting to go talk to people around. It could be worth it. Maybe there were some who had seen something, but he doubted it. After all, everybody but Reiji had been in the hall when it all happened. It was doubtful they had seen anything special.

He was about to leave when he noticed something familiar near one of the walls. His attention was piqued, so he approached. Connected to the wall there was a flower bed, encircled by a fence made of pointy steel stakes. Yukio's eyes widened, seeing the possible origin of the weapon used. When he looked closer, he noticed that the sequence of the fence was interrupted. One of the stakes was missing, or at least part of it. There was a lot of steel powder on the ground, around the place where the stake had been cut.

** Stake (Update) **

_A steel stake long enough to pin Sakurai's body to the screen. Really pointy on one point, and serrated diagonally on the other point. It came from one of the fences in the garden._

Yukio touched the powder on the floor. _This was cut with some sort of saw, no doubt. This also shows that there was premeditation. Somebody planned to kill Sakurai and took the time to find an unusual weapon and use it. This isn't a spur of the moment thing._

-"A saw…I think I know exactly where it came from"- Yukio walked down to the third section, and looked for the workshop. _I should have investigated those rooms yesterday, ugh_

The workshop was exactly what he expected. There were several tables in the center, and some boards attached to the walls. A myriad of different tools filled the boards. Hammers, saws, and other various power tools. There was a door, and behind it there was only a lot of lumber. Seeing it as a possible place to hide stuff, he checked in the lumber pile, but found nothing.

Focusing back on what he came to search for, he looked at the boards. There was one empty space, which looked big enough for a small handheld saw. _I knew it! Now where could it be…?_

It didn't take him long to find it. There was an arch saw in the counter nearest to the entrance to the workshop. Yukio took it and examined the saw. Among the spiky teeth of the saw the Assistant could see some powder. He had no doubts that it was the same powder under the fence of the garden. It could only have come from the stake when it was cut.

** Saw **

_One of the saws of the workshop. It's sprinkled with steel powder. Found near to the door of the workshop_

Yukio looked away from the saw and noticed another element out of place, or at least he supposed. Near the saw there was a pair of thick leather gloves. It had some noticeable burnt points in the fingers, but beyond that they seemed to be in perfect state.

** Leather Gloves **

_A pair of thick leather gloves, found in the workshop along the saw. There are some black burnt areas in the fingers_

-"I don't really see a clear relationship between these two elements"- Yukio mused aloud, looking forth and back between the gloves and the saw.

-"What elements?"- Yukio looked at the entrance. Kudo was standing there –"Talking alone, Ohmoto-kun?"-

-"Uh, I'm just thinking aloud. But I was trying to link these two objects"- he showed the Philanthropist the gloves and the saw. Kudo played with his hair, thinking. At the end he negated with the head.

-"I see nothing special about them. Did you find them here? If so, there's nothing strange"-

-"I think it's worth noting. They weren't in the correct place. This saw should go on that board, not here on the counter. No idea where the gloves should belong"-

-"It's just somebody disorganized, leaving them around after using them. You're looking too deep into this, Ohmoto-kun. Is this your tortuous legal mind in action?"- Kudo smiled playfully –"Will you examine everything you find around and then shove it in people's faces in the trial while yelling 'Objection!' or 'Take that!'?"-

-"Heh, I wish I did that"- Yukio grinned –"I'd be so cool"-

Kudo laughed, glad to seeing Yukio amused –"Hahaha, in all seriousness, need help? I could give you my insight about anything you have"-

-"No, I think I'm good. I can deal with this alone"-

-"I'd have imagined you'd be following your brother around and assisting him while he investigated. He's the Master, after all"-

Yukio didn't reply. He glared at Kudo, who understood he had said something not very sensible. He stammered, retracting about what he had said. –"So sorry, Ohmoto-kun, I'll now, you know, leave…"-

-"Wait! Now that you're here, I'd like to ask you something"- Yukio stopped Kudo. –"Have you seen anything unusual today? Before the murder or after the murder?"-

Kudo once again fiddled with his hair, thinking. –"Now that you say it…I did"-

Yukio held his breath in anticipation –"What was it?"-

-"It was during the blackout"- Yukio was surprised. He remembered that during the blackout the darkness was complete. How could Kudo see something in that moment? The Assistant told Kudo to continue –"I was in the library, when the blackout happened. I instantly bolted out of the library and towards the maintenance room. The fuses were there, after all...while I was running, I suddenly saw a beam of light"-

-"A beam of light?"- Yukio remembered his earlier thoughts.

* * *

_Besides, it all being dark wouldn't be an advantage for a culprit. A ray of light would have been noticeable, unless it all happened in a secluded place. Unless there were night goggles in the storage, which seemed really unlikely to him._

* * *

_Of course!_

-"Yes. Like one coming from a flashlight"- Kudo explained.

-"What happened next? Did you see who held the flashlight?"

-"Uuummm…no, I hid as soon as I saw that. And it was too dark to see faces"-

_Well, it was to be expected_

-"Where did the person go?"-

-"I saw the figure enter here the workshop. I took advantage of that moment to continue going towards the Maintenance Room, so I didn't see anything else"-

This supported some of Yukio's thoughts. _Yes, I see how it is. The culprit took advantage of the blackout to take the saw!_

_But wait…the stake…wait, when was the stake taken, again? I'm getting confused_

-"I think I saw that person coming out of the gym, too. Does that help?"-

-"Definitely, Kudo-kun. So you were the one who restored the lights in the shelter?"-

-"Yep! I did good, didn't I?"- Kudo looked as if he expected some sort of gold star for his efforts. Yukio felt awkward and replied with a 'Sure'

** Kudo's Testimony **

_During the blackout, Kudo saw somebody coming out of the gym and entering the workshop_

** Blackout **

_Twenty minutes before Sakurai's death, there was a sudden blackout. It lasted around five minutes. Kudo was the one who ended the blackout_

-"Please take me to the Maintenance Room"- Yukio ordered. Kudo nodded, and signaled Yukio to follow him. Kudo navigated the third section as if he had done it a thousand times already. Yuko commented about this, receiving a light laugh from the Philanthropist

-"Yeah, I know my way. I have good memory. I could even go to the Maintenance Room during the blackout without any flashlight"-

-"Cool"-

-"Yep! Blindfold me and I'll still be able to find my way around the shelter"- he said, confident of his abilities. Soon both men reached the door that led to the Maintenance Room. Kudo opened it and Yukio entered. The Assistant looked around.

It was more of a hall than a room. At the far end, he could see more shutters. Behind them, the hall extended more. –"There's a fourth section, apparently"- he said, and examined the fuse box. He couldn't see that it had been tampered in any way. Kudo confirmed his thoughts; he hadn't seen anything unusual either when turning the lights back on.

-"Is there a power generator?"- Yukio asked. Kudo grasped the shutters and pointed in the distance.

-"That seems to be the generator that powers up this shelter. As you can see, it's far from anybody's reach"- the generator was several meters away. It was clear it was impossible to reach.

-"Then what caused the blackout? Could it really have been an accident? With no relation to this death?"-

-"The person I saw may have been the culprit. If it wasn't planned, then why did that person have a flashlight? Coincidence?"-

-"But there's no other way to tamper with the electricity"-

-"Uuuummmm…"- Kudo twiddled with his fingers –"Sakurai once mentioned there was a voltage control in the garden"-

Yukio hadn't paid attention to anything like that in the garden. After realizing he may have missed crucial evidence, he thanked Kudo and ran to the garden.

Embedded to the wall, there was a box with controls. Several wires jutted out of it and ran along the wall, finally going through the concrete. Those wires look really dangerous. _Touching them could be a nasty experience_

He turned his attention to the box, and opened it. He carefully read all the gauges and anything that could hint if there was anything unusual. He succeeded.

Most of the gauges and the dials under them indicated that the voltage coursing through the wires and therefore, possibly most of the shelter, was ridiculously high. _A voltage this high would wreck anything powered by electricity!_ The only one that wasn't abnormally high was the one belonging to the lights.

He then examined the exposed wires. He rubbed his eyes and looked as close as he could. Among the wires, he swore he could see several small pieces of what seemed like green cloth, some of it molten and black.

Yukio turned back all the dials so the voltage was back to normal.

_I definitely know where this came from. …But if what I think that happened here is true then…what happened in the conference room?_

** Tampered Voltage Box **

_A box located in the garden, controlling the voltage of everything in the shelter. Most of it is set to really high voltages. There are pieces of green clothing sticking to the nearby wires_

Yukio took another moment to think. He already was picturing most of the crime in his mind, but he planned not to announce his thoughts in the trial at first. It'd be better to see how everything went before narrating how the murder possibly happened.

During his thoughts, he remembered that Kudo had mentioned that the possible culprit had come out of the gym. Could the culprit have picked out something from that place?

Knowing he was running out of time, he ran to the gym. It was a place filled with several machines to exercise one self, some yoga mats, and a pair of rings on the high ceiling. There was a rope hanging from one of them. The other rope was just on the side of the entrance to the gym.

Yukio picked it up, wondering what it was doing there. It obviously belonged up there, not on the floor. It looked like it had been used, as several parts were split, as if it had been a victim of friction. There was also a loop.

From what Yukio could see, the rope that was hanging from the ring on the ceiling was brand new, and went straight down, excluding the part that was tied up.

_This is the only element that looks out of place. Better remember it_

** Rope **

_A rope belonging to the gym. Looks positively used. The rope forms a wide loop at the end._

-"Now what?"- He said aloud. He couldn't see any other place to go. Yukio decided that he had done enough around the shelter, and needed some rest before the trial started. He walked all the way to the cafeteria.

Reiji was sitting on a corner. He was staring at something in his hands. When he approached, he saw that it was the content of the envelopes Monobear had given to all of them. When Reiji felt that Yukio was approaching, he hid the sheet of paper in his suit.

-"How did the investigation go?"- He asked. Yukio shrugged, and replied that he had some ideas, but had no idea who the culprit was. Reiji looked down to the floor, as if he were disappointed, and asked for a full list of the evidence found so far. Yukio gladly told everything to his brother. The longer he talked, the more confident Reiji looked.

-"You did find a lot of evidence. Well done"-

-"But it isn't enough to know who the culprit is"-

-"Hmmmm…I'd like to give you some of my thoughts, if you don't mind. Maybe you'll gain some enlightenment from it"-

-"Sure, go ahead"- Reiji took a deep breath, and started.

-"I think that the reason behind this murder is related to the secrets Monobear spread around. Sakurai knew a secret, and it was big enough for somebody to kill"-

-"But who had it?"- Yukio said.

Reiji seemed like he didn't know what to say. Then he took the sheet of paper from his suit, and ripped half of it. He passed it to Yukio.

-"Check that"- Yukio took it and read its contents.

The sheet of paper clearly wasn't Reiji's motive. It only had one single sentence:

_Masashi Sakurai knows your secret_

-"Is this yours?"- Yukio asked, not knowing why Reiji had passed it. He denied it.

-"No. This…this came from Ginchiyo-san's motive"-

-"Ginchiyo-san?"-

-"I stole it from her. The other half tells Hikasa-san's secret, but it's nothing you need to know"-

** Motive **

_Half of the motive. It was given to Ginchiyo, supposedly. It states that Sakurai knew Ginchiyo's secret_

-"And not only that"- Reiji continued –"I saw Ginchiyo-san exiting the Conference Room"-

-"When?"-

-"Around ten minutes before the fight in the Conference Room happened. After Ginchiyo went away, I checked inside the Conference Room but saw nothing unusual. Everything was in order"-

Yukio had his doubts. –"During the fight inside the Conference Room, Ginchiyo was one of the people who were forcing the door open"-

Reiji grimaced –"You got a point there. It doesn't mean a thing, then. My bad"-

Yukio stood there in silence for a moment. Seeing that Reiji wasn't talking more, he asked aloud if there was anything else Reiji would like to say. He did.

-"I was wondering, why did Sakurai go into the Conference Room?"-

-"For the movie day, of course"- Yukio replied without any doubt. Reiji wasn't convinced.

-"Do you think that? Maybe you're right. He did seem excited for this day"-

-"I'm sure of it"- Yukio frowned –"Unless you're insinuating there may have been another reason"-

Reiji scoffed –"I'm not insinuating anything, I know as much as the next guy. It was just a thought. Go, my brother and Assistant. The trial should start soon"- He waved at Yukio, and refused to say anything else, just staring at the wall. Yukio sighed and exited the cafeteria, not wanting to be in the same place than his brother.

He went to the Lounge, and looked at the fountain in it. It was certainly a relaxing place. He planned to be there until Monobear called them; however, Reiji's words continued echoing in his mind. _Why did he go? For the movie day. Was that really the reason…?_

He closed his eyes, tired. –"Curse you, Reiji"- he said aloud. After some minutes it was clear he wasn't going to be able to remove those words from his mind, at least until he made an effort to prove that Sakurai had really been in the Conference Room for the movie day.

_But how?_

_Let's suppose that Sakurai-kun was called to the Conference Room by somebody. The most likely way would be to talk to the victim directly. However, what if it wasn't possible? The next possibility would be through a note. Giving it in person would be stupid, so leaving it somewhere Sakurai-kun would see it is more likely._

_If I were to call somebody with a note, I'd pass it under the room to the bedroom._

_…seems like a plan._

Yukio opened his eyes, and decidedly walked to the Conference Room. He knew what to do, and even if he didn't find a thing, he'd at least calm down his doubts. Soon he was beside the dead body. He slowly put his hand in Sakurai's pockets and extracted its content. Only the ID was there, same with the other pocket.

_No note_

He examined the ID. There was nothing unusual, but Yukio knew what to do with it. He went to the bedroom hall, until he found Sakurai's door. He bravely passed the ID through the slot to the side of the door, unlocking it, and opened it resolutely.

It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.

On the floor, a few feet into the room, there was a small note. Yukio picked it up and examined its content. It was more or less what he had been looking for. What he didn't expect was who had supposedly sent it.

_Sakurai-kun_

_Would you like to choose what movies you'd like to watch? It's a 'thank you' for helping me to set the movie day._

_Meet me in the garden half an hour before the time for the movie day. I'll bring the movies box so you choose._

_Yukio_

-"No way!"- He said aloud, and then put a hand over his mouth, hoping nobody had heard him. Reading incriminatory notes in middle of the victim's room would be something not very easy to explain, specially knowing how some of the graduates tended to get to the worst conclusion possible. He kept the note and quickly got out of Sakurai's room.

** Note **

_A note summoning Sakurai to the garden shortly before his death. It's signed with 'Yukio'_

There was something that bothered Yukio about the note, though, but he couldn't really pinpoint what it was. He felt that there was something that went against all logic. He supposed it was his signature in the note and nothing else, but the nagging feeling didn't go away. He didn't have too long to think about it.

-"Eeeeh, I'm starting to get bored. Did you bastards use your time wisely? We'll find out now. You know where to go, see you all in the courtroom!"- Monobear's voice sounded through the speakers.

Yukio felt goosebumps. Ogata wasn't around, and while he had experience in trials, it wasn't like the ones in the shelter. Besides, the last two had undermined his confidence. In the first one he hadn't been effective at all and in the second one he had pointed at the wrong person as the culprit.

He soon arrived to the lobby before the court room. He was the last to arrive. Almost everybody had the same air of nervousness. However, judging by some of the graduates' expressions, it seemed like some, including Yukio, already had a suspect in mind. Specially Toriumi.

_Will I need to fight against Toriumi? I'll beat her or so help me_

When the way to the courtroom opened, his bout of willpower disappeared. _Oh man, what am I doing here? I'm going to wreck it. I'm going to accuse wrongly and send everybody to their deaths._

_We're doomed._


	20. Chapter 3: Stakes Over The Heart - Trial I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added Saitou's death image on Chapter 4, Sawashiro's execution and Climax Inference end moment on Chapter 8, and concept art for Veritas on Chapter 15.
> 
> It's also official that humans in this story has flesh-colored oven mitts instead of hands, according to the illustrations. Hah.

-"…so let the third trial start!"-

Monobear finished his usual speech, and everybody took it as their cue to start the discussion.

-"This trial shouldn't take too long, should it? I mean, we just need to rule out who could have done it and who couldn't"- Curtis said, browsing the list of evidence he had found.

-"I think we all have a suspect by now"- Toyogushi smirked knowingly. Several graduates returned the smirk to him –"I'll take that as a confirmation. We all know who our suspect is"-

Yukio had the dreaded feeling that he too knew who they were thinking about. He rushed to try to steer everything from a foregone conclusion. Maybe during the trial a better suspect would arise. He already had Ginchiyo as his suspect, but it was almost sure that the rest were thinking about somebody else.

-"Guys, maybe we should leave the name of the culprit for later. First let's clear up the murder itself"- the Assistant suggested, fidgeting. Toyogushi laughed condescendingly.

-"Sure, why not? Let's do that. It isn't like it'll change much. Recap, please!"-

-"Today there was a movie day event. With that in mind, we all went towards the Conference Room, to watch the movies on the big screen"- Toriumi narrated –"I was the second to get there. Ginchiyo was already there, listening to the door and trying to force it open. She told me she was hearing strange noises.

The rest of the graduates started arriving as well, until a group formed: Curtis, Hikasa and Kudo were with Ginchiyo and me. It was obvious there was something happening inside, so we all started to try to force the door open. While we were in those efforts, Chiba, that Ohmoto, Yamaguchi and Toyogushi arrived. The noises inside the Conference Room stopped, and we managed to force the door open. And that's when we found the body"-

-"Pretty sound recap. That is a really big neon sign about who the culprit is, eh?"- Chiba commented.

-"But I agree with Ohmoto-kun. Let's discuss the murder itself first"- Hikasa nodded. –"So, first things first: how was Sakurai-kun killed?"-

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

Piece of Chair / Rope / State of the Body / Ventilation Chute / Lack of Blood

* * *

HIKASA: So, how did Sakurai-kun die?

TOYOGUSHI: I think the body makes it clear

TOYOGUSHI: He was **stabbed with the stake!**

GINCHIYO: But Monobear's File doesn't say it was the cause of death

GINCHIYO: In fact, it says nothing about the cause of death

TOYOGUSHI: But what else could it be?

TOYOGUSHI: **There wasn't anything else like a weapon** in the conference room

TOYOGUSHI: I think it's pretty straightforward that the stake killed him!

GINCHIYO: Aren't you too hasty about the cause of death, Toyogushi-kun?

TOYOGUSHI: It would be different if there was something…

TOYOGUSHI: …that **contradicted or affected the body in some other way**

TOYOGUSHI: But as there isn't any, we have to think the stake was the murder weapon!

* * *

-"Hold on a moment, Toyogushi-kun. You're wrong!"- Yukio pointed at Toyogushi.

-"Say what?"- Toyogushi stopped for a moment, and looked genuinely caught off-guard

-"Did you examine the body? At all?"-

-"Uuuuuh…"- Toyogushi spit the gum, playing with it in his hand –"Can't say I did…"-

-"If you bothered to do it, then you'd have noticed that Sakurai-kun's body clearly went through more than a mere skewering with a stake"- Toriumi said coldly –"And without Monobear's word in the file stating that the stake and the stabbing were the cause of death, we need to have an open mind"-

Toyogushi fiddled with the gum, finally letting it fall to the floor. –"Yeah, my bad. Then how did he die?"-

-"Hmmmmm…would it be too far-fetched to say I think he was electrocuted?"- Curtis theorized

-"Oh! He was stabbed with the stake on the screen. At that moment, maybe a lot of electrical current could have gone through it, frying his back and his heart!"- Yamaguchi supported

-"I still doubt that the screen would have enough voltage to fry his body like that"- Toriumi stated.

-"There's a way, Toriumi-san. I know it!"- Kudo said, leaning on his podium.

* * *

**THINK BEFORE TALKING**

Toriumi stood up as tall as she was, and glared at Kudo. –"This is a trial. If you don't back up your words, then you better shut up"-

-"Ooooh…well, I'm ready. Let's do this"-

* * *

** Rebuttal Showdown (Toriumi vs Kudo) **

* * *

_Tampered Voltage Box / Saw / Signs of a Struggle / Stake / Monobear File #3_

* * *

TORIUMI: I have studied this kind of matters

TORIUMI: A TV can electrocute somebody when broken like that

TORIUMI: But there's no way that it would reach…

TORIUMI: …the amount of voltage to cause such damage to the body!

TORIUMI: At most, it would cause a heart attack

TORIUMI: Possibly with minor burns on the hands or some other part

TORIUMI: But Sakurai-kun's back is way too burnt

TORIUMI: It's practically crumbling down!

KUDO: If there were increased voltage…

KUDO: Then would you accept the possibility?

TORIUMI: Eh, yes, definitely

TORIUMI: But I myself examined the screen

TORIUMI: **The screen definitely wasn't tampered**

TORIUMI: **Neither were the nearby wirings**

TORIUMI: And besides the screen itself and the wiring of the room…

TORIUMI: **There's no other way to tamper the voltage** of the screen!

* * *

Kudo snickered. Toriumi raised her eyebrows. –"So? How was his back carbonized with the electricity of the screen?"-

-"Did you know there's a box in the garden? It controls the voltage directed to every area of the shelter"-

-"I have heard about it, but I didn't take a look…myself"- Toriumi slowed down, unsure. She had a feeling of where Kudo was going –"Who took a look at it?-

-"I did. And so did Ohmoto-kun over there?"- Kudo pointed at Yukio for a moment –"The voltage box has been tampered. All the dials, except the one for the lights, are set to really high voltages"-

-"I see, I see. It could be possible that then the increased voltage could cause the damage"- Toriumi admitted –"But then the culprit himself would be dead, too. That stake is metallic. Electricity could easily flow through it, and if the culprit was grasping the stake, then it's a sure death.

-"There's a way for one to endure the electricity, using only the hands"- Yukio interrupted, taking from his pocket what he had found

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Leather Gloves**

* * *

-"These gloves came from the workshop. I found them out of the place where they should be stored…has anybody here used them?"- Everybody denied having even seen those gloves before –"Then we could conclude that, if nobody had used them before, then this is the first time they were out…possibly by the culprit"-

-"I can accept that. Why didn't you say it before, Ohmoto, if you knew about the tampered voltage box?"- Toriumi scolded, impatient. Yukio looked away.

_Because I think that's not what happened, but…I want to see first how the trial goes_

-"So Sakurai got electrocuted the moment he was stabbed and pinned to the screen. It fits!"- Reiji said cheerily –"It also explains why the Monobear file makes no mention of the cause of death. Not even Monobear could know that caused the death, if it was the stabbing or the electrocution!"-

Yukio thought about it. _No, I think that's not all…would that mean that Monobear doesn't know either about the time of death?_

-"Monobear"- Yukio said firmly, silencing all discussion the other graduates had going –"In a blackout, are you unable to function? After all, that computer in the office needs electricity and it contains your programming…"-

-"Ah, ah, ah! Not even a blackout can stop me from functioning. Only the most basic functions programmed would remain, but they include knowing when one of you bastards dies!"-

Yukio continued his train of thought. The odd question didn't go unnoticed around, although nobody knew what was going on.

-"What do you have in mind, Yukio?"- asked his brother

-"Oh, it's nothing. I was just wondering…carry on, everybody"-

-"Okaaaay…as I was saying, we should discuss the exact moment of his death"- Chiba said, continuing the discussion.

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

_Rope / Piece of Chair / Saw / Signs of a Struggle / Motive /_

* * *

REIJI: The scene shows **_the culprit had a good deal of strength_**

YAMAGUCHI: Indeed! **To hold Sakurai-kun's body and pierce it at the same time** …

YAMAGUCHI: Not just anybody can do that!

TOYOGUSHI: I think only Hikasa-kun and I could do it

HIKASA: Oh, no, you won't. I won't be a suspect again!

TOYOGUSHI: ** _There's no way either of us could do it_**

TOYOGUSHI: **We both were outside the conference room** …

TOYOGUSHI: …at the time of the death!

CHIBA: But the suspect I have in mind doesn't look that strong

CURTIS: Yeah, he doesn't. Maybe **we're overlooking something?**

CURTIS: …or maybe **we're thinking this wrongly?**

* * *

-"No, wait"- Yukio suddenly interjected –"Curtis is right"-

-"About what, Ohmoto-kun?"- Curtis smiled, glad to have something right…whatever it was

-"If we take Curtis' statement that we're thinking this wrongly and use it to attack Yamaguchi's statement about how Sakurai was held and killed…then we could progress with the trial!"-

-"I don't think I understand what you're saying"- Kudo said.

-"What I mean is that Sakurai-kun wasn't held and stabbed at the same time. There's a way for somebody without great strength to do it!"-

-"How was it done, then?" Hikasa inquired.

-"With these"-

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Chairs**

* * *

-"Remember the piece of chair that was found behind the body? It was also struck by the stake"-

-"Were there any chairs broken?"-

-"Yeah, there was one"- Yukio replied –"If there's a piece of chair behind the body, and one of the chairs is broken, and knowing what we know about the chairs, then it's obvious what happened!

* * *

_The chairs were stacked; the body stabbed and then put on the chairs_

_The chairs were stacked; the body put on the chairs and then stabbed_

_The body was stabbed, the chairs then stacked and the body put on the chairs_

_The body was put on the chairs, and then stabbed and then the chairs were stacked_

* * *

**The chairs were stacked; the body put on the chairs and then stabbed**

-"First, the culprit stacked the chairs against the screen. Then Sakurai's body was put on the top chairs, so it's facing the culprit and resting on the back. And then…the culprit skewered both body and chair!"-

-"The remaining piece of chair must have stuck there when the culprit tried to take off the chairs. What a stupid murderer, not realizing the chair would be struck as well"- Hikasa mocked, looking at his suspect.

-"Ohmoto-kun? I noticed that you said "Sakurai's body" instead of "Sakurai"…"- Chiba pointed. Very few of the other graduates had noticed that detail, but now that Chiba said it aloud, it was acknowledged by everybody else.

-"That's an important distinction! It's real obvious that you got something in mind, Ohmoto-kun"- Hikasa added.

-"Uh, yes, I do. I'm almost sure that I'm right. If you'd like to, I'll now take you all along with my logic, to see if it's sound enough. If we all get to the same conclusions, then it should be right"- Yukio said.

* * *

** Logic Dive **

Was the order of the events described right or wrong?

_Right_

_Wrong_

* * *

**_Right_ **

* * *

Was Sakurai alive or dead when he was propped on the stacked chairs?

_Alive_

_Dead_

* * *

**Dead**

* * *

What was Sakurai's cause of death?

_Stabbing_

_Loss of Blood_

_Electrocution_

_Concussion_

* * *

**Electrocution**

* * *

Is it possible that Sakurai was killed in the conference room?

_Yes_

_No_

* * *

**No**

* * *

"-Okay, do any of you think that Sakurai-kun would have climbed onto the top chair?"- Yukio started.

-"He was kind of dumb, but I don't think he would have done that"- Ginchiyo replied. The other graduates agreed.

-"Maybe the culprit forced Sakurai to do it"- Hikasa theorized. Yukio negated with his head.

-"I don't think the culprit could restrain Sakurai-kun and make him climb the chairs at the same time."-

-"Then the only possibility is that he was dead…how did he die?"-

-"I have a really big hunch that Sakurai-kun really did die from electrocution, but it wasn't in the Conference Room"-

-"Then where could he have been killed?"-

* * *

…in his room

…in the Maintenance Room

…in the garden

…in the Workshop

* * *

**…in the garden**

* * *

-"I'd say that the real crime scene was the garden"-

-"Are you sure? It's true that voltage box is located in the garden and that there are some exposed wires over there, but a mere hunch…"-

-"I can present the concrete evidence that points to the conclusion I desire!"- Yukio was starting to get really confident –"And I mean this!"-

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Tampered Voltage Box**

* * *

-"…again the voltage box?"- Yamaguchi asked, doubting the theory.

-"Verily! If one upped all the dials to the max voltage, the exposed wires near the voltage box would reach enough strength to cause such severe burns, as the one present in the corpse"- Yukio wagged his finger around, marking each of his words.

-"But it's still theory, Ohmoto-kun. We need something physical and tangible"- Hikasa crossed his arms, waiting for the Assistant to continue.

-"Oh, there's physical and tangible evidence sticking to the wires. When I examined it, I found several strands of melted green textile. Now, do I need to remind you all what color were Sakurai's clothes', specially his shirt?"-

-"They were green!"- Reiji reminded everybody. Yukio grinned, triumphant.

-"Exactly! When Sakurai-kun was held or pushed or whatever against the wires, the heat or the voltage or whatever, caused those burns on his back and melted part of his shirt. Pieces of the melted cloth sticked to the wires, and that's how we can know that the victim died in the garden, most likely"-

-"And then the culprit carried the body over to the Conference Room!"- Yamaguchi concluded. Chiba cleared her throat.

-"I don't think so. Would the culprit carry the dead body all the way over to the Conference Room? The path isn't short. The chances of him being seen carrying Sakurai-kun's dead body to the place it was found is way too high."-

-"No, the culprit didn't carry the corpse to the Conference Room"- Yukio stated.

-"It's undeniable that Sakurai-kun's body appeared in the Conference Room! If he was killed in the garden and he was found in the Conference Room, then the only way is that the culprit carried him to that place!"-

-"Then explain it: how did the culprit get the body from the garden to the conference room without carrying it?"-Curtis inquired. Yukio smirked.

-"The culprit really prepared herself. This is the only way for the corpse to have appeared at the crime scene!"-

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Ventilation Chute**

* * *

-"How many of you noticed the ventilation chute on the ceiling?"-

-"What? A chute on the ceiling?"- Ginchiyo asked, scratching her head sheepishly. The rest seemed clueless as well, even Toriumi, who Yukio had noticed was proud of being observant.

-"Yes. It's wide enough for the corpse to pass through, and it connects the garden with the Conference Room, as these two areas are stacked on top of each other. I'm sure the culprit let the body fall through there"-

-"So the body arrived first, and then the culprit went to the Conference Room and arranged the scene"- Yamaguchi concluded –"That makes sense too, I guess"-

-"What was all that we heard through the Conference Room's door, if Sakurai-kun was already dead at that time?"-

-"I think that was the culprit arranging the scene so we thought it all had happened there"- Hikasa replied –" Our general first thought still stays: the culprit stayed inside the locked room until we forced it open!"-

-"Sakurai-kun died around five minutes before we all gathered. When I got to the Conference Room, I saw somebody close the door from inside, and when I tried to enter, I found it was locked. The general time of death is more or less the same, even if he was killed in the garden!"- Ginchiyo added.

-"At the end, the only thing that changed was the cause of death. It was neat to find out what it was, I admit it. Excellent job, Ohmoto-kun!"- Kudo flashed a thumbs up at Yukio.

Yukio, drunk in the wine of his success, decided to take the next step ahead. Although he had been really unsure of himself when the trial started, now he was feeling recklessly confident. It didn't matter if he had already said everything he had figured out and now he had to bluff and pay attention to what everybody said. Despite his lack of preparation, he decided it was time to start the important part of the trial.

-"We should now name our suspect. We all have one, don't we?"-

-"Definitely"- Curtis replied –"But I don't think that you and I have the same person in mind, buddy"-

-"We'll see. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I accuse Ginchiyo-san of being the killer of this case!"- Yukio announced dramatically, with big gestures towards the Filmmaker.

The reactions happened really fast. Ginchiyo paled, Hikasa roared a "Whaaaaaaat?!" and several other graduates laughed. Yukio's confidence started to deflate in what could be a record time.

-"Ginchiyo-san? But she was outside when the culprit was arranging the scene!"- Chiba managed to say after her fit of laughter.

-"Besides, nobody points at her as the culprit!"- Hikasa added shouting, once he managed to calm down enough to not to rip Yukio's head off.

-"Well…that's my opinion. I think that Ginchiyo-san did it…but then who do all of you have as your suspect?"-

For a moment it seemed like everybody else had some sort of hive mind, or if they knew exactly what each other were thinking. Their expressions said it all. They all had their own suspicion. Yukio had a very bad feeling.

-"Let us guide you through our logic, Ohmoto-kun"- Curtis started, pointing at Yukio, marking each word, in what Yukio saw as an imitation of his earlier behavior –"The culprit threw the body through the ventilation chute, right?"-

-"Uh…yes…"-

-"Then the culprit set the scene. We all started to arrive to the Conference Room while the culprit was still doing it. We all listened to him wrecking the Conference Room. Are you following?"- Yamaguchi continued

-"Sure, but…"- the bad feeling was increasing

-"We all were just on the only entrance to the Conference Room. Nobody came out of it while we were there"- Kudo took the word no.

-"Yeees…"-

Relentlessly, Kudo continued –"Curtis-kun, Hikasa-kun, Ginchiyo-san and Toriumi-san and me were there. Then Chiba-san, Yamaguchi-san, Toyogushi-kun and you arrived. That means nine of us ten were just outside the Conference room while the culprit set the scene"-

-"No..please, no…"- Yukio was now almost wanting to drop on his knees to not to hear what was going to be said.

-"Do you realize, Ohmoto-kun? Only Reiji Ohmoto can be the murderer!"- Yamaguchi finished.


	21. Chapter 3: Stakes Over The Heart - Trial II

Yukio groaned. He saw it coming. Indeed, from an elimination point of view, Reiji would be the only person who could have arranged the scene.

But he also wanted to think that his brother wouldn't do such a thing as killing somebody. Yukio wasn't somebody innocent in that regard. He was forced to kill to survive out there, but the situation in the shelter was different.

Reiji wouldn't kill anybody.

Right?

-"What do you have to say in your defense?"- Ginchiyo asked. Reiji glared at her. The Law Master was obviously repressing a big amount of anger. However, Yukio jumped to defend him, just like he had done several times in the court before.

-"Now, wait a second! Reiji isn't confirmed as the culprit here"-

-"Beg your pardon? I'd say it's pretty confirmed he is! He hasn't even tried to give an alibi"- Curtis exclaimed

-"I was in the library"- was Reiji's reply. Curtis scoffed.

-"Weak alibi. Yeah, I'd say it's time to proceed with the vote now. There's no way this guy isn't the culprit"-

-"What about this? This should show that Ginchiyo-san is a suspect as well. This gives her a clear motive to kill Sakurai-kun!"-

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Motive**

* * *

-"Look at this. This is the content of one of the envelopes Monobear gave to us. R…I managed to find it, and this one belonged to Ginchiyo-san. This says that Sakurai-kun knew her secret. This gives her a reason to kill him!"-

-"May I see that?"- Toriumi asked, and received the piece of paper. She looked at it closely. –"Well, I have no doubts this is authentic. But how can we be sure that this belongs to Ginchiyo-san? What's more, why is this ripped off?"-

-"The other half contained Hikasa-kun's secret. It was nothing of my business, so I got rid of it"-

The Weightlifter closed his eyes, seemingly pained. –"It's true that Ginchiyo-san had my secret. But I refuse to believe she killed him"-

-"You'll soon have to stop struggling and accept that the person that is dear to you is a murderer!"- Yukio said, without fully realizing that if his fears turn true, then he'd have to do what he just said. However, Hikasa turned it around easily.

-"But that half of the motive letter doesn't prove that Ginchiyo-chan's involved here. How can we even know that was her motive letter?"-

Yukio didn't say anything. Taking the chance, Hikasa continued talking.

-"That half of the motive once belonged to your brother"- he remarked. Yukio pointed at Hikasa, shaking, and talked back.

-"If it belonged to him, would he have given it to me?!"-

-"He did. This is my motive letter"- Now Ginchiyo got it out, showing it to everybody –"And as you can see, it's not ripped"-

Yukio froze in his place, twitching. His reckless behavior had gotten Reiji into a deeper hole. The Law Master had his face buried on his hands. Yukio took it as a clear sign of disappointment. This pushed him to continue struggling.

-"No, wait, wait…there's something else too!"-

-"Now what?"- Ginchiyo rolled her eyes

_He directed me to find this. It could work!_

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Note**

* * *

-"I found this in Sakurai-kun's room"- Yukio showed the note he had picked up from that place, and read it aloud.

_Sakurai-kun_

_Would you like to choose what movies you'd like to watch? It's a 'thank you' for helping me to set the movie day._

_Meet me in the garden half an hour before the time for the movie day. I'll bring the movies box so you choose._

_Yukio_

-"What do you think of it, everybody?"-

Nobody answered for a while. Some looked at Yukio with pity, while others had confusion on their faces. Finally, Curtis broke the silence.

-"…I think it throws more suspicion on him"-

-"Eh? What? Why?"- the last word came out like a screech.

-"If Sakurai-kun got appointed to the garden and somebody who wasn't you arrived, he would be on guard, wouldn't he?"-

Yukio nodded. Curtis looked at Reiji, and pointed at the red ribbon the Law Master had. –"If he went there with a green ribbon instead of a red one, he would easily pretend to be you, wouldn't he? It's much easier to do that than pretending to be anybody else here"-

-"So what? Does that change anything? Why would this note be in Sakurai's room, then?"-

-"I think this went like this: Ohmoto-kun passed that note under Sakurai's note, the victim read it and went to the garden at the specified time. Once he was there, Ohmoto-kun arrived. Sakurai-kun was killed with the wires. Ohmoto-kun searched for the note, thinking Sakurai-kun brought it with him, but there was no sign of it. Fearing that it was in Sakurai-kun's room, he told somebody, you, I think, to retrieve it, in case somebody had the idea of going into Sakurai-kun's room.

He hoped you'd simply keep it with you, but it backfired spectacularly, and now he looks even more suspicious"-

Reiji sank a bit more in his hands. Yukio was astonished. He still refused to believe Reiji was the culprit. Even after everything Reiji had done to him, he still wanted to believe on his innocence. With that in mind, he played the last card he had.

-"No, wait, please, one more chance!"-

-"Go ahead, Ohmoto-kun. Say what you got in your mind"- Toyogushi smirked, clearly waiting for Yukio to dig a deeper hole for Reiji.

-"There's…there's a testimony. Well, it isn't really a testimony. It's more of a line that at first didn't seem that important, but now I think it'll work to…to…to clear Reiji's name"

-"Oh? And whose line is it, then?"- Hikasa asked. Yukio cringed, and got ready to point at that person. Even if they surely would stop listening to him, he had to do it.

* * *

Akane Ogata

Chihiro Toriumi

Masashi Sakurai

Aya Sawashiro

Mika Yamaguchi

Reiji Ohmoto

Mishio Matsukaze

Saburou Hikasa

Kaiji Kudo

Ginchiyo

Masaru Miyata

Hoshio Saitou

Takeshi Toyogushi

Yukio Ohmoto

Ian Curtis

Tomoe Chiba

* * *

**Ginchiyo**

* * *

-"Ginchiyo said it. She did. She can prove Reiji's innocent"-

Ginchiyo raised her eyebrows, and asked to clarify what she said. Yukio took a moment to remember, and said it.

* * *

_-"No, wait!"- Ginchiyo interrupted –"I saw Reiji-kun entering the room right now. I saw him coming from the hall. He wasn't locked in here"- Hikasa listened to Ginchiyo's words, and sighed in acceptance._

* * *

Ginchiyo was taken off-guard by her own words. Hikasa grimaced as well.

-"Are you completely sure that he wasn't inside the Conference Room since the beginning, Ginchiyo-san?"- Toyogushi pressed –"Are you sure that you may not have seen what you tink?"-

-"I…I talked without thinking. It's possible that Reiji-kun did stay inside the Conference Room after killing Sakurai-kun. I was wrong at that time"-

-"No! You won't retract. Admit it! Admit you saw my brother being outside of the Conference Room!"-

Ginchiyo took a deep breath, and finally sighed. –"Okay. I admit it. I saw Reiji-kun out of the Conference Room after we all entered"-

-"He walked out while we weren't looking. We all paid attention to the body and not to any other place. There, problem solved"- Toriumi sad, bemused.

-"But you can't ignore the possibility that Reiji was all the time outside the Conference Room, therefore, he wasn't locked inside. Meaning that he can't have been the one arranging the scene!"- Yukio concluded, relieved. The rest begrudgingly accepted the possibility.

-"We have a bigger problem now"- Kudo muttered –"If all of us ten were out of the Conference Room, then who was inside arranging the scene?"-

-"Ogata-san?"- Ginchiyo asked, half-kidding.

-"Really? Do you think she woke up from the coma and the first thought that went through her mind was to kill somebody and make a ruckus in the Conference Room?"- Yukio countered in disbelief. Ginchiyo shrugged.

-"It was a joke…but what are the chances of Ogata-san having awoken by now?"-

-"I think Monobear would have forced her to be in the trial, if she were awake. Confirm it, Monobear!"- Toriumi looked at the robot. Monobear talked indifferently.

-"Only being severely and physically incapacitated would stop you from being here"- was all his reply, before he continued lazing around.

-"That concludes Ogata-kun is still in coma"-

-"Then let's focus and start this: how did the culprit arrange the scene and somehow be out of the Conference Room?"-

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

_Kudo's Testimony / Ventilation Chute / Tampered Voltage Box / Saw / Monobear File #3_

* * *

YUKIO: It was a very elaborate setup

YUKIO: I think **it would need a good amount of time** to be done

YAMAGUCHI: So long that when we arrived **it was still being arranged**

CURTIS: But **_nobody could have been there!_**

CHIBA: Maybe there was a **_secret passage_** and when the culprit was done…

CHIBA: He or she stepped through it and reunited with us all!

TORIUMI: Knox's third says no hidden passages exist.

HIKASA: This is no Knox mystery story, Toriumi-san. There could exist one!

HIKASA: Or maybe **_the culprit did stay inside_** …

HIKASA: And one of us **_was a fake_**

HIKASA: Or there was **_something we didn't think of as possible way out_**

TORIUMI: Perhaps everything **_was a recording_**

HIKASA: There are way too many possibilities!

-"Wait! I think I see! I know a possible way out of the Conference Room other than the door!"- Yukio shouted, stopping the discussion

-"But none of us saw any door or trapdoor or similar"- Ginchiyo said.

-"It's no door, and it's true that none of you saw it either. I was the only one who did. I'm talking about the ventilation chute!"-

-"What? Just…what?"- Chiba grabbed her head, annoyed.

-"Are you saying that the culprit managed to get on the ceiling and climbed all the way to the garden? None of us have wings, Ohmoto-kun"- Ginchiyo muttered.

-"Look, I think I'm starting to understand. The culprit really could ascend through the ventilation chute. It also would explain why this piece of evidence was found out of place"- Yukio tried to explain.

-"What evidence? Not anything will work"-

-"But this can. Look!"-

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Rope**

* * *

-"I found a rope lying on the floor of the gym"- Yukio explained –"There's another rope in there, tied to a loop on the ceiling"-

-"Was it long enough for one to reach the garden through the ventilation chute?"- Reiji asked

-"It could be. I didn't try it because I didn't think of this possibility until just a few minutes ago, but I think it was long enough"-

-"Just a rope being there doesn't mean it was used by the culprit to climb through the chute"- Curtis argued –"One of us could just have left it there"-

-"Yeah, he's right. It's just a rope"- Yamaguchi agreed.

Yukio didn't argue with that. The truth is that he himself was unsure of what he had said. Climbing with a rope through the ventilation chute seemed farfetched, but he was satisfied. He had introduced the possibility of another way out, but he doubted it'd last long.

-"That was a fun theory, Yukio, but I think we should focus back on the real world"- Reiji said, much to Yukio's surprise. He was the last person the Assistant expected to fight what he said, especially since he was trying to save him.

-"Then what can we do?"-

-"Fill the blanks. Really, Yukio, you're supposed to be the competent one. Show what you're made of"- Reiji scolded.

_Why don't you help to save yourself too, damn it_

-"There aren't many facts unknown"- Yamaguchi stated –"And none of them are game-changers. We should go straight to the vote now"-

-"No, we can't! We must examine every angle and mystery there is. Remember that our lives are in the line here, we must take our time"- Yukio said, stern. Yamaguchi sighed.

-"Okay, okay. Where do you suggest starting, then?"-

Yukio thought for a moment. There were several unclear areas, but there was one that was bothering him for a while already.

-"Why didn't Monobear include the time of death in his report?"-

-"Let's ask him"- Yamaguchi looked at the bear to ask, but Monobear was fast asleep on his throne. –"What a jerk. I bet he's pretending to be asleep to avoid our questions"-

-"Why hadn't Monobear put the cause of death, though?"- Kudo wondered.

-"I thought we established it was because he didn't know"- Yamaguchi tapped her foot, impatiently –"Between the stake and the electrocution, it was very ambiguous"-

-"But we know that Sakurai-kun was electrocuted with the wires in the garden. There's nothing ambiguous about that!"- Ginchiyo countered. Yamaguchi closed her eyes, as if she had a headache.

-"Maybe the blackout affected his circuits and he is now unable to determine such things"- Toyogushi said lightheartedly. Monobear, now suspiciously awake, chastised him for insinuating that a mere blackout could have damaged him.

The graduates discussed about the possibility of Monobear's functions being faulty, getting nowhere in the process. However, the trial changed direction when Hikasa remembered a possible explanation.

-"There's another possibility…"-

-"Different to Monobear being a terrible robot? Do tell, please, Saburou-chan"- Ginchiyo pleaded

-"This is just like in the last trial. Something Monobear did caused a discussion among us and a general discontent. What if…this is actually intentional?"-

-"Is Monobear trying to troll us?"- Yamaguchi mulled over the possibility.

-"That would be no surprise"- Toriumi mumbled. Hikasa ignored her and continued.

-"I think that Monobear is trying to misdirect us in the trial, possibly just for his amusement. But he seems to choose important facts! Last trial, it was Matsukaze's internal bleeding. This time it was the cause of death. What if the time of death has been hidden too to mess with us?"-

-"Then he was successful"- Toyogushi deadpanned –"So, time of death. I do think it was a few minutes before Ginchiyo-san arrived to the Conference Room door. There isn't any other timeframe where it could have happened"-

-"Remember that the culprit's note called him to the garden half an hour before his body was found"- Reiji pointed, once again attracting odd looks from Yukio. –"It can't have happened earlier than that.

-"It could if the note was faked by, oh who knows, the killer who brought attention to the note in the first place"- Curtis said, poison clear in his voice. Reiji held his hands defensively.

-"I was just saying. Come on, I'm trying to help!"-

-"The preparations also must have taken some time. A stake from the garden was used, so it had to be cut in advance, didn't it?"-Kudo mulled. Murmurs of agreement filled the trial room.

-"But if Sakurai was killed in, say, fifteen minutes before he was found, then anybody could have killed him. We don't have a clear suspect!"- Toriumi pointed. The possibility of not having an easy trial to fight was a frightening possibility.

-"We'll find a way"- Yamaguchi assured her –"Now let's see what we know about the time of death, alright?"-

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

_Note / Monobear File #3 / Recorder / Blackout / State of the Body_

* * *

KUDO: Sakurai-kun was found dead at **2:00 PM**

GINCHIYO: He was asked to meet with Ohmoto-kun **half an hour** before that

REIJI: What are the alibis for this time?

TOYOGUSHI: I'd say that **_setting the scene would take ten minutes_** , at most.

CURTIS: **Nine of us** have an alibi for those ten minutes…

CURTIS: …so if **the murder occurred before those ten minutes** …

CURTIS: …we'll be back to nothing!

CHIBA: Don't forget the blackout

CHIBA: Sakurai-kun **can't have been electrocuted during it!**

CURTIS: If the blackout lasted five minutes, and it happened twenty before 2:00 PM…

CURTIS: Then Sakurai-kun either **_died between 1:30 PM and 1:40 PM_** …

CURTIS: Or he **_died between 1:45 PM and 1:50 PM_**!

HIKASA: This is vital. Think everybody!

_This is it. If I can answer this, then the murder should start to reveal itself. Think, Yukio…_

_When. Was. Sakura-kun. Killed?_

_The culprit called him to the garden. The garden is the crime scene._

_Sakurai-kun was attacked in the garden._

_Sakurai-kun died in the garden, and his body was thrown through the ventilation chute_

_The culprit also had a rope. This indicates preparation. Was climbing through the chute always a part of the culprit's plan?_

_No, you're going too far, Yukio, think about the time of death._

_He was called to the garden and died._

_Sakurai-kun was electrocuted._

_…electrocuted…_

_…_

_Electrocuted!_

-"I have solved it! I solved it! I know the exact time Sakurai-kun was killed!"- He shouted as loudly as he could, startling everybody.

-"What the fuck? Are you trying to deafen us?"- Toriumi cringed.

-"Shut up! I know when Sakurai-kun was killed. He was killed exactly at 1:40 PM!"-

-"That's the moment before the blackout"- Chiba remembered.

-"Exactly. The blackout is a clue the culprit couldn't ever erase. It's a clear mark of when the murder happened!"-

-"Are you saying that the culprit caused the blackout…"-Reiji started to understand.

-"Sakurai-kun was electrocuted when he was pushed against the wires near the voltage box. What if this is what caused the blackout in the first place?"-

-"That is…that's certainly a possibility!"- Kudo started to get excited too.

-"But then the culprit couldn't have done anything during the five minutes the blackout lasted. It was real dark back then"- Toriumi said. -"So the body was thrown into the Conference Room when the lights came back, at 1:50 PM…"-

-"And in the next ten minutes the culprit arranged the scene we found. It does fit!"- Chiba finished the line.

**NO IT DOESN'T**

-"It's nice we figured out the time of death, but there's a big flaw in this reasoning"- Reiji said, chuckling.

-"What flaw is it, brother?"-

-"This crime needed preparation. The rope, the gloves, the stake, the tampered voltage box. Does this seem like ten minutes was enough for it?"-

-"Uuuuh…"- Yukio was unsure for a moment –"Well, it could be possible…"-

-"That's stretching it. Ten minutes aren't enough to complete this murder scheme!

* * *

** Rebuttal Showdown **

* * *

_Piece of Chair / State of the Body / Kudo's Testimony / Ventilation Chute / Pool Cue_

* * *

REIJI: He was killed, and then the blackout happened

REIJI: I admit that's possible

REIJI: But what followed later is not possible!

REIJI: The amount of time available wouldn't…

REIJI: …allow to set the crime scene in time…

REIJI: …to be found at 2:00 PM!

YUKIO: It was still being arranged at 2:00 PM

YUKIO: We all heard it!

REIJI: Yes, that's true

REIJI: But even then, it isn't enough time!

REIJI: The culprit either had to gather everything earlier...

REIJI: Or way after the crime

REIJI: Getting caught is always a possibility

REIJI: There was no situation…

REIJI: … **when the culprit could gather the elements** for the plan…

REIJI: …without risking being seen!

* * *

-"Oh, there was indeed a moment. However, the bad luck dictated that the culprit got seen while doing it"-

-"What moment is it?"-

-"During the blackout!"- Yukio answered, satisfied.

-"But it was very dark during the blackout. How could he or she manage to see during it?"-

-"Tell them, Kudo-kun. Tell them what you saw during the blackout"- Yukio ordered. Kudo, catching on, told everybody what he had seen.

-"You saw somebody coming out of the gym and entering the workshop?"-

-"Yeah. Well, I couldn't see the face, but it was a person with a flashlight, running around during the blackout. I thought it was something odd"-

-"The culprit took advantage of the unexpected blackout to modify the plan. He or she gathered some new objects that led to the scene we found!"-

-"That's why the things found in the Conference Room and the stuff out of place found by Ohmoto-kun ere all from the third area. The culprit couldn't risk going further!"- Toyogushi deduced.

-"After the culprit gathered everything he needed, he came back to the garden. At some point, the lights returned, so the culprit was able to carry out the last part of the plan"- Hikasa said

-"After Sakurai's body was thrown into the Conference Room, the culprit barricaded himself into the room and set the scene and…"-

-"…eeeh…escaped through the vent? That's as far as we have got so far"- Toyogushi yawned, apparently sleepy. –"Uf, this is somewhat confusing…"-

-"No, this is actually perfect. We have made progress"- Hikasa said –"Ohmoto-kun, the one with the green ribbon. Let me get this straight: the culprit was still arranging the scene when we all got to the Conference Room, right?"-

-"That's correct"-

-"Then by that logic, you just pushed all of us around in a big circle, because this makes your brother the only person who could be arranging the crime scene when we all got there"- Hikasa stated.

Yukio was silent for a moment. –"Surely something must have changed…"-

-"…actually…no, it hasn't! The evil Ohmoto-kun is still the only one without an alibi at the time the scene was being arranged"- Toyogushi caught up –"And we all agree that the person who was inside when we all got to the Conference Room was the culprit arranging the scene. It's him!"-

-"And the noise inside stopped when Ohmoto-kun…eeeeeh…"-Kudo made some unsure gestures with his hands

-"…climbed up the ventilation chute?"- Curtis said. Kudo nodded.

-"I'm having hilarious mental images of Ohmoto-kun climbing that rope"- Hikasa commented.

-"The reason Ohmoto arrived later than the rest of us to the crime scene was because he went to put back everything he had used in the crime. The rope, the gloves, etc"-

-"This wasn't a waste of time at all. We managed to really fill the blanks! Now we have a complete picture of how the crime happened"- Hikasa smiled, joyous

-"Once again, thanks, Ohmoto-kun"- Kudo once again gave a thumbs up.

Yukio was again really bemused by how everything had turned out. It had taken a longer time than the last attempt, but the result had been the same: once again, Reiji was targeted as the main suspect. The Law Master was staring blankly at Yukio, as if he were asking for help.

_I won't give up, Yukio. I'll clear your name, really!_

-"Can we proceed with the vote part now?"- Ginchiyo asked the rest of the graduates –"We have been dragging this trial longer than we should have"-

-"I fully agree, let's do it"- Hikasa looked lovingly at Ginchiyo.

_No, this can't end now._

-"A-A-A-Are you guys sure that there isn't anything else to discuss? Maybe there are other things that are unanswered yet…"- Yukio said weakly.

-"There aren't any blanks left, Ohmoto-kun. It's time that you accept your brother's dirty heart and move on"- Toriumi had a stern expression on her face. Then she turned her attention to Monobear. -"We'll start the votes now!"-

Yukio heard the words as if they were in slow motion.

_I have to turn this around. I dug this hole, I can turn it around, I must do it!_

_Anything that can invalidate what has been said so far. No matter what it is._

_I must save my brother!_


	22. Chapter 3: Stakes Over the Heart - Trial III

Almost crying, Yukio subconsciously put the hand in his pocket. He opened his eyes, surprised, when he took out an object he had with him all the time. It was a risky move and had a lot of probabilities of not working, but he wasn't going to stand there while his brother got condemned.

-"Wait, wait, objection! I…"-

-"For the love of…now what?!"- Curtis didn't hesitate to show his annoyance.

-"I have a confession"- was Yukio's statement. Hikasa sighed loudly.

-"Okay, this is the last thing you'll say before we start voting. And you better not pin the murder on yourself"-

-"It isn't that. It's that I concealed evidence…"-

-"And what would it be?"- Ginchiyo humored him.

-"We all have said that the culprit was setting up the scene, and that it was the main evidence against Yukio. But I…had found something that shows it wasn't true. Look at this"-

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Recorder**

* * *

-"This recorder was hidden among the chairs in the conference room. The culprit surely used a tape with prerecorded noises to make it seem like somebody was inside the crime scene"-

-"That recorder sure can be loud"- Toriumi commented, eyeing the recorder suspiciously.

-"And where's the tape? Let's listen to it"- Curtis demanded. Yukio fidgeted under his glare.

-"The culprit took it away with her"-

-"Why would the culprit take only the tape and leave the recorder in there? It was easy to conceal and nobody would notice"- Yamaguchi pointed, frowning. Yukio had no answer to that.

After seeing that the Assistant was unable to answer, Toriumi took it as her chance to tell Yukio what she thought. –"You know what this looks like, Ohmoto? It looks like an attempt to save a murderer. You purposefully ignore the logic and the facts and only focus on flimsy emotional stuff"-

Yukio didn't reply. Soon he started to cry in silence. Most of the graduates looked at him with pity but didn't say anything. Only one talked.

-"Ohmoto-kun, I know how it feels to know or even suspect that somebody dear to you did something as terrible as murdering"- Yamaguchi said softly –"But you also need to learn that holding onto your love to him won't be any good. Please…leave aside what you feel and think objectively. Only when you can focus on the facts, you'll reach the truth"-

-"I don't want to kill him…"-

-"I'm sure that all of us have somebody here who we want to protect. You have your brother. Hikasa-kun has Ginchiyo-san. Toriumi-san has Ogata-san. And I myself have Curtis-kun. But no matter whom it is or who we want to protect, if that person kills, then it wouldn't be right to condemn everybody else to save that person. Your own life is in danger, Ohmoto-kun, and not only are yours, our lives in danger too. And you need to think about your own wellbeing too. Take a deep breath, ignore for a moment the bond you have with him, and rethink everything again"-

Yukio nodded. He dried his tears. –"Sorry for being an immature idiot"-

-"Wanting to protect him and fight for his innocence isn't being immature. Now, do it. We'll give you time"-

-"We will?"- Ginchiyo asked. Yamaguchi glared at her.

-"We will"-

Yukio was silently grateful towards Yamaguchi. She was right. He needed to leave aside his feelings and focus on what mattered in that moment: the lives of the innocent.

* * *

**Logic Dive**

* * *

Who was arranging the crime scene when everybody got to the Conference Room?

_Reiji Ohmoto_

_Unknown person_

* * *

**_Reiji Ohmoto_ **

* * *

Why did he appear sometime after everybody else found the body?

_He was cleaning the crime scene_

_He was trapped in the Conference Room_

_He was putting all the objects he used back in their rooms_

* * *

**_He was putting all the objects he used back in their rooms_ **

* * *

Was there something unusual with the objects, despite being in the correct rooms?

_Nothing. Everything was fine_

_All of them were covered in blood_

_All of them weren't in their proper places_

_All of them were notes_

* * *

**_All of them weren't in their proper places_ **

* * *

The note in Sakurai's room. Why was it in the floor as if it had been put there recently?

_Because it was. It was put there after the crime_

_Because Sakurai didn't see it_

_Because Reiji is messy and careless_

* * *

**_Because it was. It was put there after the crime_ **

* * *

Reiji was the one who called attention to it. If he put the note in the room, why would he do that?

_To convince Yukio of his guilt_

_To confuse Yukio_

_To hint that there was more in the crime than what it seemed_

_To give Yukio the name of the culprit_

* * *

**_To hint that there was more in the crime than what it seemed_ **

* * *

Would Reiji, as the killer, leave anything out there as evidence and force people to find what he used to set the crime and kill?

_Definitely_

_It's illogical_

* * *

**_It's illogical_ **

* * *

If Reiji did set up the crime scene, left crucial evidence laying around without doing an effort to conceal them, and his actions doesn't fit a killer's actions, then…

_…he's an accomplice and is trying to point towards the culprit_

_…he's completely innocent_

_…he's an accomplice and he's terrible in hiding the evidence_

_…he's the culprit_

* * *

**_…he's an accomplice and is trying to point towards the culprit_ **

* * *

-"Oh wow"-

-"Had an epiphany? Tell it, Ohmoto-kun"- Kudo requested. Yukio seemed uncertain, but his voice hinted that his confidence was returning slowly.

-"Okay, first than all, I…I admit it. Reiji was heavily involved in the murder"-

-"That's an understatement. He killed him!"- Toriumi stated, rubbing her temples tiredly

-"No. He was an accomplice"-

-"An accomplice? Why would one cooperate with somebody else to kill? Would Monobear even let two people to get out of here?"- Yamaguchi wondered and looked at the bear. He was once again pretending to be asleep. –"Really. What a jerk"-

-"The point is that he has done a lot of things that are illogical if he were the culprit. By example: why would he leave all those things in the rooms they belong, but in plain sight? Anybody would connect them to the murder"-

-"He was in a rush to get to the conference room so nobody noticed he was absent"- Ginchiyo replied forcefully. Yukio mulled about it.

-"Hmmmm…no, I don't think so. It wouldn't have taken more than five seconds to put the gloves and the saw in their spots. The rope…well, I admit that was really hard to hide in the gym, as it belonged on the ceiling. And the pool cue…I think that one went wrong. It has a string tied to it; maybe he tried to pull it back when he was climbing the chute"-

-"I think Ohmoto-kun does have a point there. It is odd…"- Toyogushi agreed, unsure about his suspicion now"-

-"No, that won't be enough to sway my vote"- Toriumi stated. Yukio shrugged.

-"But you have to admit the possibility of Reiji being merely an accomplice"-

-"I don't have to admit anything. I say that Reiji is the sole culprit here"-

-"Guys, we need to give it some thought. Remember that our lives are in danger here. Please, give it a chance"-

Silence filled the courtroom, until Hikasa talked. –"I think we should. You know, better be safe than sorry, and oh boy, we'll be really sorry if Ohmoto-kun isn't the one who electrocuted him"-

Soon other graduates started agreeing, until the number of those who wanted to vote now was reduced to two. They resigned, and begrudgingly accepted.

Until then, Reiji hadn't said anything. He stayed silent.

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

_Note / Motive / Stake / Signs of a Struggle / Blackout_

* * *

REIJI: Okay, I admit it. **I did set the crime scene.**

TOYOGUSHI: Why did you help to kill Sakurai-kun?

REIJI: I don't want to talk about that

REIJI: Throwing the real culprit under the bus is my priority now

YAMAGUCHI: And who is it?

REIJI: **_I did try to tip you off_** _,_ Yukio

REIJI: So it isn't like I stayed silent about the culprit

REIJI: … ** _Ginchiyo_**

GINCHIYO: ….

HIKASA: …

TORIUMI: And why the hell didn't you say anything earlier?

REIJI: If I said that Ginchiyo was the culprit…

REIJI: …while I also had **no evidence at all** …

REIJI: …would you really have listened to me?

YUKIO: Maybe they would have, brother.

* * *

-"…It's true. He did try to tell me who the culprit was, and I did it. I told you all that Ginchiyo-san was the culprit"-

-"You're talking about the motive letter, aren't you? The one that was demonstrated wasn't ripped?"- Curtis reminded everyone

-"I had no evidence that pointed towards Ginchiyo-san's involvement! I had to improvise…"- Reiji protested. Curtis ignored him.

-"The motive was definitely what I meant. We can all forgive him for trying hard to show us the right direction, right?"- Yukio said.

-"Maybe if it didn't involve blaming me for the crime, then I would be more sympathetic"- Ginchiyo deadpanned –"Listen, everybody. I had no involvement with Sakura-kun's death. Don't listen to him!"-

-"We'll be the judges of that"-

* * *

** Nonstop Debate **

* * *

_Saw / Kudo's Testimony / Recorder / Leather Gloves / Pool Cue_

* * *

KUDO: Supposing that Ginchiyo-san took part of this murder…

KUDO: …then what would be her involvement?

YAMAGUCHI: If I were in that position…

YAMAGUCHI: **I'd make sure I have an alibi**

YUKIO: Her alibi was that **she was outside the conference room**

GINCHIYO: I just got there before everybody!

TOYOGUSHI: But how would she make sure she couldn't be linked to the crime?

CURTIS: **_By making Ohmoto-kun set up the scene_**

CURTIS: But it's merely an "if"

YUKIO: But that wouldn't be enough

YUKIO: She'd need something definitive…

YUKIO: …a way to make sure she did have an alibi

HIKASA: Shut up, all of you! Now!

GINCHIYO: Saburou-chan, I can deal with this

GINCHIYO: Look, everybody: it was just matter of **entering the Conference Room**

GINCHIYO: If we had done that successfully…

GINCHIYO: Then there would be no doubts **_Reiji-kun is the culprit_**

GINCHIYO: It's our entire fault!

* * *

-"No, stop right there, Ginchiyo-san"- Yukio interrupted –"I think I see how you secured your alibi: by stopping us at all costs from entering the Conference Room"-

* * *

-"Oooaaaagh"- Ginchiyo groaned, as if she were going to spit

-" She was one of the first to start trying to break open the door"- Hikasa rebutted –"That is far from trying to stop us from entering!"-

-"She had to maintain the appearances. Surely she was sure we wouldn't be able to enter, thanks to the pool cue that blocked the door from the inside"- Yukio pointed at Ginchiyo, who started flinching visibly. –"This was your plan: you made Reiji set up the crime scene and lock the door with the pool cue so you could do a whole act at the other side, trying to open it"-

-"That would establish an alibi for when we thought the murder was happening and would also prevent any suspicions towards her!"- Reiji added.

The graduates started whispering around, discussing the possibility. –"…Ginchiyo was the one to be there. When I got to the Conference Room entrance, she was listening through the door. Was that an act?"- Toriumi asked. Yukio nodded.

-"Most likely"-

-"No, I won't accept this! Ohmoto-kun, you'll shut up now before I go and tear your head off"- Hikasa threatened. Yukio couldn't avoid feeling intimidated, but Curtis went ahead and made things clear, pointing one flaw

-"Ohmoto-kun, I think you don't realize something: that doesn't point anything towards who did it, if it was Ginchiyo-san or your brother, who killed Sakurai-kun. It's possible that both were involved, but we need to find which one did it.

-"Wait a minute, why are you treating this like it's confirmed I was involved?"- Ginchiyo shrieked, furious.

-"To be fair, Ginchiyo-san is right. This is still in the realm of a mere theory. Don't jump to conclusions"- Toriumi interceded.

-"Monobear! Wake up now, you stupid animal, and answer now"- Hikasa approached the throne, forgetting that attacking Monobear would mean his death. However, he stopped at the last moment, when Monobear stirred and stood on the throne, looking at Hikasa straight to the eyes

-"What is it, musclehead?"-

-"If there are two graduates cooperating to kill somebody, and they succeed at the trial, would both get out?"-

-"Gyahaha, that would be too easy! What would stop all of you to gang on one poor sap so you all can go free? Not acceptable! That's why only one person will get out of the shelter, no matter how many take part of it"-

-"Be specific! Who would?"-

-"Welll…"- Monobear snickered –"…I'd say the one who made the plan in the first place would be called 'the true culprit'. Whoever was naïve and stupid enough to follow it won't get any rewards for the death!"-

-"So whoever is responsible for ideating the plan is who gets out?"- Toriumi verified

-"Exactly!"-

-"So, time for the question that'll define our fate: who was the mastermind behind this murder?"- Curtis said

The tension in the trial was almost unbearable. Everybody was deep in thought, unsure. They all had acknowledged that the possibility of Ginchiyo and Reiji being accomplices was likely enough to warrant an in-depth examination.

-"…what do you think, people? I think Ohmoto-kun was the mastermind"- Curtis stated. Reiji closed his eyes as if he were in pain.

-"I think it was Ginchiyo-san"- Chiba said as well. Ginchiyo looked as if she had just been slapped.

The graduates started bickering about who was the mastermind, while both accused shouted their own defenses. It all turned into a mess, with seemingly no way to get anywhere productive. Determined to end the trial, Yukio put a stop to the bickering.

-"Okay, let's take a look back as to how it all happened. Just to clear our thoughts before the voting. After that, we let Ginchiyo-san and Reiji defend themselves, but only one chance. Then we vote. Is it all right?"-

-"I approve that"- Reiji said, nodding. The rest followed suit.

-"Well, then this is how it happened!"-

* * *

** Climax Inference **

* * *

_At some point, one of the culprits contacted the other, and somehow convinced that person to cooperate on the death of another graduate. Sakurai was chosen as the unlucky victim, for unknown reasons._

_So their plan started._

_First, they defined a time and place, which ended being the garden and 1:30 PM. To call Sakurai, a note was passed under his door at some point._

_At the time of the meeting, Sakurai arrived to the garden, and encountered one of the culprits, or maybe both. It's unknown. But what ended happening was that Sakurai was attacked. Soon he ended being pushed or held against the wires near the voltage box, which were tampered beforehand to cause those wires to have a lethal amount of electricity coursing through them_

_The end result? Sakurai died electrocuted, and the events in the garden caused a blackout to happen in the shelter. However, one of the culprits was prepared for this event. This culprit left the garden in a rush, going towards the leisure room, the workshop and the gym in rapid succession, to gather certain objects. A rope, a saw, a pair of gloves and a pool cue. During this race, he or she was seen by Kudo._

_When the lights returned, they threw Sakurai's body through the ventilation chute that connected the garden to the Conference Room. One of the culprits tied an end of the rope somewhere in the garden, possibly to one of the fences, and let it dangling in the Conference Room._

_Both culprits ran to the Conference Room to set the rest of the scene, knowing they didn't have much time before we all gathered into there. Once they got to the Conference Room, they locked the door with the pool cue and started setting it._

_To pin the body to the screen, they stacked chairs and put Sakurai's body on them, and using gloves. Seeing that it was almost time for the rest to arrive, one of the culprits left the other to set the rest of the scene._

_After the first one was out, the second resealed the room again with the pool cue, and tied a string on it, and finished the preparations, including making it look like there was a struggle._

_While the second culprit was doing it, the first one had managed to look innocent and made the rest of the graduates try to open the door. After the second culprit was done, he started to climb the rope until he got out in the garden._

_Then he started to put everything back in their rooms, but he left everything in plain sight, to make us know there was something amiss. And he succeeded. After that, he reunited with the rest of us, who had already found Sakurai's body._

_The reason for such a needlessly complicated plan only had one goal: to make the mastermind have an alibi for the murder, as we were made think that it happened in the closed Conference Room, while the mastermind was right there with us._

_And it all was done by you two! Reiji Ohmoto and Ginchiyo!_

* * *

Silence filled the trial room, until Ginchiyo clapped.

-"What a nice tale, but no, I'm not the mastermind. Will you stop making me look like it?"-

-"What other reason is there for you to be the accomplice to stay outside the conference room? If you had been the one, instead of Reiji, to come back late, all suspicions would be on you. You forced him to stay inside so he would get the suspicions!"-

Ginchiyo finally had enough. She shouted and raised her hands, exasperated. –"Alright! Alright! Yeah, I helped to kill Sakurai-kun. But I didn't create the plan! It was all Reiji-kun's work!"-

-"What…what are you saying, Ginchiyo-chan?"- Hikasa was almost unrealistically pale

-"What I just said. I helped to kill Sakurai-kun!"-

Hikasa stared forward, while the words started to get to him. The rest continued the trial while he tried to digest what his love interest had just said.

-"There it is. A confession. Now, is she the mastermind? I do think she is"- Yukio said. Ginchiyo gritted her teeth, but before she could say anything, Yukio continued. –"Now it's time for you two to defend yourself. You first, Reiji-kun"-

-"Thanks brother"- Reiji said with soft expression. Then he composed himself to talk –"Okay, I admit it too. I was the other accomplice. But it all was Ginchiyo-san's plan. The day before, she came to me, and essentially said "If you refuse to help me get out of this damn shelter, I'll kill you right here""-

-"What…"- Ginchiyo attempted to talk, but Yukio's glare shut her up

-"She also threatened you, dear brother. Your life to be safe, in exchange of helping her. That was the deal. But I wasn't going to let it happen without fighting! So I went along with the plan, until Sakurai-kun was dead. I was the one to retrieve everything we needed, yes, but after the scene was set, I deliberately left everything out of place so it would be noticed.

After that, I also needed to tell somebody, but I knew that I wouldn't be trusted, because I had arrived after everybody had found the body, so I decided to tell the one person I was sure would trust me: you, Yukio"-

Yukio felt somewhat honored that Reiji had such a level of trust on him. And even more, that Yukio's life being threatened was what pushed Reiji to help with the murder. It was something horrible to know, that his life had been preserved at the cost of somebody else's life, but under it, he felt flattered.

-"I told you about my suspicion, along with a tiny lie to make her look more suspicious, but you didn't accept it as well as I thought you would. However, you did keep in mind who I had pointed at. I'm proud of you, brother.

I had a back-up plan to make you see my involvement was unwilling: I offered you evidence. After the investigation started, I wrote a copy of the note we had used to call Sakurai-kun, and passed it through under his room's door. You did find it, and even if it wasn't really useful here, at least you got the message that there was something wrong.

…Thank you Yukio"-

-"It's curious that your defense is going almost exclusively towards your brother"- Toriumi commented –"Ohmoto, don't let yourself be manipulated by him"-

-"It's your turn now, Ginchiyo-san"- Yukio said. Ginchiyo was rather gloom; compared to the indignation she had few minutes ago. It seemed like she was struggling to find words.

-"What Reiji-kun…Ohmoto-kun said was a complete, utter and fucking lie.

He's the one who came to me with the plan to kill Sakurai-kun. He blackmailed me into helping him"-

-"With what…?"- Hikasa asked, still pale

-"…he knew my secret. 'Reiji Ohmoto knows your secret', that's what the letter said. And he did, and used it to force me into cooperating"-

-"That is it? That was your motivation? Your secret being told around? I mean, they definitely were big secrets, but not big enough to warrant killing!"- Chiba chastised

Yamaguchi used a kinder tone –"Our opinion of you wouldn't have changed, Ginchiyo-san"-

-"There must be something else involved, right?"- Toyogushi asked Ginchiyo. She shook her head

-"That…that was all. But guys! Ohmoto-kun was lying. He's the one who ordered me to be the one outside the Conference Room. This all is part of his plan to make himself look innocent! Please, believe me!"- Ginchiyo was almost desperate, in contrast to Reiji's calm expression.

-"Only somebody so guilty could be so anxious over being declared innocent"- Yukio said harshly. Ginchiyo whimpered and faced him.

-"You all will die too! Get it, please, Yukio-kun, believe me…"-

-"I had enough"- Yukio stated –"Monobeat, let's start with the voting"-

-"Are you all sure?"- He replied –"No last-minute objections? No hero bursting through the door with crucial evidence? No more dramatic unveilings?"- The graduates just look at him blankly –"Then let's get on with it! Time for voting!"-

With great confidence, Yukio marked Ginchiyo as the culprit. Most of the rest weren't so sure, so the voting took longer than usual. Even then, Yukio was sure they'd all see the light of the reasoning and vote for the right person.

-"Everybody voted! And what an uneven tally. Six votes against four! Who was named as the mastermind of Masashi Sakurai-kun's death? Who is this person? Will they be guilty or innocent?"-

The gambling machine on the side of the trial room sparked into life and its slots starting moving. Soon they slowly stopped until they showed three portraits of Ginchiyo. Yukio felt a huge wave of relief. He had done it. His brother was safe and the real culprit would be condemned. Reiji's face showed great relief as well.

The moment Yukio noted something was wrong was when they slot machine didn't flash the GUILTY message.

Then he saw Reiji's wicked grin.

-"Heh…hahahahahahaha, AHAHAHAHAHAHA"- Monobear started laughing real loud, and soon Reiji joined him. It was a maddening laugh. Yukio covered his eyes in an effort to stop hearing it, tears starting to form in his eyes. The feeling of dread and betrayal was overwhelming.

He felt like time had stopped, but the laughter soon faded into nothing. Then he opened his eyes. Most people had horrified expressions, and didn't move. Reiji was still cackling to himself, while Toriumi and Kudo looked more resigned than anything else.

-"Congratulations, Reiji Ohmoto-kun! You successfully managed to fool the innocent graduates and secured a guilty verdict on an innocent person. You'll be getting out of the shelter with big honors!"-

_…_

_…I knew it. I knew I'd doom everybody_


	23. Chapter 3: Stakes Over the Heart - Trial IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It sure is a curious feeling.
> 
> Knowing that a plot twist you did was so amazingly received, but now I feel that what comes later isn't on par with the magnitude or the quality of the twist. Heh. Either way, time to continue.

* * *

To say that Yukio was horrified would be an understatement.

Reiji proudly walked until he was to the side of Monobear's throne. He hadn't shown a hint of regret, like Sawashiro had, or had a smug smile in his face, like Miyata had.

It was pure and cold contempt what as in his face.

-"No, no, no…we can't die…please, tell me we're not going to die…"- Toyogushi was muttering to himself.

-"We will, Toyogushi-kun. You six voted wrong and now we'll all pay"- Toriumi stated with an unwavering voice. However, a keen observer would see she was hiding her own desperation.

-"So right. By the way, Yukio, thank you for your help. For a moment I thought I was a goner, but then you came in your idealistic white horse and saved me"- Reiji said.

-"Yukio…how can you be so…so…"- the Assistant couldn't find the words to describe it.

-"So now I suppose this means I get to gloat and give evil speeches, don't I, Monobear?"- Reiji looked at the bear in what could almost be classified as adoration.

-"Go ahead! Have fun!"-

-"Alright. Now where to start…"-

-"Why you did it would be a good place to start!"- Curtis lashed out

-"A motive rant, alright. It's pretty simple, and I even gave you all my reason in a silver platter. Yukio, be a good brother and show them"-

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Motive**

* * *

Yukio held the piece of motive letter Reiji had given him earlier. –"This was…"-

-"Correct. That's half of the motive letter I received. As soon as I read that, I went to Sakurai-kun's room and managed to take the motive letter. But I couldn't take any chances, either. Even if it was possible he didn't read it before I took it, I had to get him killed. And seeing how I had Ginchiyo-san 's secret with me, and what it was, I knew she'd be the perfect accomplice for me.

It was a big risk to give you my motive letter, Yukio, but it paid off. You were convinced I wasn't the culprit, and fought tooth and nail to get me free. You're sooooo idea-lis-tic, brother!

Now, you also got a few things wrong, Yukio. I cut the stake in advance to the murder. The plan was that Ginchiyo-san would stab him with the stake, and afterwards I'd run and bring the rest of the objects after he was murdered. Previously I had left them ready to just be taken, you know, time matters. But Sakurai-kun was indeed pushed into the wires and the blackout happened.

Not that it matters. What was important was that Sakurai-kun was dead"-

Reiji narrated his plan as if he were talking about a really boring sports match. It was just so casual that Yukio felt the bile rising to his throat. He did feel physically ill.

The Law Master reveled in people's blank stares. He knew he was safe from whatever they could do to him. With hatred, he turned to Ginchiyo. –"I didn't like your intromission, Ginchiyo-san. You tried to get me convicted. I'll now pay onto your favor"- he stood on the center of the circle and raised his arms, basking in his own glory –"Who here wants to know what is Ginchiyo-san's secret? What made her kill?"-

-"Please…no…"- Ginchiyo pleaded, almost breaking down

-"Too bad! Now, listen everybody, because this is rich: Ginchiyo-san is one big fraud!"-

The reaction wasn't as spectacular as Reiji had wished, mostly because everybody were still trying to process their imminent deaths. Still, he continued.

-"The exact words were: "Ginchiyo stole her sister's credit and spot in Hope's Peak". It struck a chord in me. It was perfect! How lucky I was that this was the secret I received"-

-"Ginchiyo-san…is that true…?"- Yukio asked very softly. Ginchiyo weeped.

-"Of course it is. Monobear doesn't lie"- Reiji said, enjoying his moment

Ginchiyo gathered enough courage to tell everybody about it. –"I'm not a fraud…I…I did steal my sister's credit but I'm not a fraud.

Ginchiyo isn't a name. It was our pseudonym. We did our movies under that pseudonym. We both collaborated closely and produced several quality short movies…but Shizuka…she received most of the credit. I was regarded by everybody as just a helper, when I was in an equal position to her…

I was so, so, so jealous and upset…why, if I worked as hard as her, she had to be the one to receive the fame and the credit? It was unfair!"- Ginchiyo's voice turned more acute when she shouted the last words. After she calmed down, she continued –"When Hope's Peak's letter arrived and I noticed it was for Ginchiyo, I…just…kind of snapped. I now know that it was meant for both of us, but in that moment I saw it as my chance to…take what was mine. I presented myself to Hope's Peak and told them that Shizuka had declined to be a student there and wanted me in her place. That's when I was told the invitation was for both of us.

I returned home to tell Shizuka, but…she had heard about what I had done and…she ran away from home. She…was gone…

…I spent years looking for her. It was my fault. She ran away and it was my fault. And even after all those years, I couldn't find her. She just…disappeared.

…She's dead, I'm sure of it. She must be dead. I…practically killed her. It's my fault…"-

Ginchiyo sobbed. Nobody said a thing, most of them out of respect for her confession. Nobody could claim they understood what Ginchiyo had gone through, but they could see sincere regret.

-"And there you have it. That's what she had to hide that made her cooperate. Underwhelming, eh?"- Reiji smirked.

-"Stop it"- Toriumi spat –"You have no right to stomp on her feelings, you bastard"-

-"Her feelings? I don't care"- Reiji approached Ginchiyo, while she looked at him ruefully –"All I see is one easily manipulated woman. A pity of a human being that let her guilt and secrecy overwhelm her to the point she helped me to kill. For all it matters she should be deep in a hole, wallowing in her own des-pa-ir"- Reiji chuckled, amused by her tears. –"How does it feel, Ginchiyo-san? How does it feel to have killed somebody to protect a secret, just to see it revealed in front of everybody else? How does it feel to see that you failed to do what you wanted the most?

I bet it feels rather…despairing, doesn't it? Then let me join in. I'll reveal what I fought to hide so much too. I'll join your despair!"-

Reiji laughed emptily, while Ginchiyo broke down completely. She fell to the floor, crying loudly, while he watched.

-"You're insane…inhuman…"- Yukio had muttered that, seeing how his brother hurt Ginchiyo so much –"How can you do this, Reiji…?"-

-"Surprised, Yukio? Well, in case it wasn't really obvious, then say hi, Yukio! Hello, I'm Reiji Ohmoto, and I'm the remnant of Super High School Level Despair!"-

Yukio almost fainted. His brother was it. He was the SHSL Despair hidden in the shelter. Reiji continued, still enjoying the moment –"Surprised? You shouldn't. Be proud of me. I was accepted into SHSL Despair despite being graduated! Enoshima-sensei saw the potential in me and formed me into who I am now! Aren't you proud of your brother, Yukio?"-

-"How long…"- he started, but Reiji ran to his podium and slammed it

-"Are you going to ask how long I have been a SHSL Despair? You call yourself my brother, when you didn't even notice who I am? You're even more pitiable than Ginchiyo-san, Yukio! Remember everything I did before the trial? How much I pointed to you towards Ginchiyo-san, yet you weren't smart enough to steer the suspicions away of me?

How despairing it was to see that the person I relied on to drive me to a non-guilty verdict was such a bad attorney. Because that was one pitiful performance, Yukio. You were crying while you squeezed your brain trying to find a way to vindicate me, and it was useless. I was really lucky I wasn't condemned, but I'll give you credit: your frantic flailing did confuse everybody, which was as good as you actually being competent"-

Yukio was horrified. The person in front of him couldn't be called his brother anymore. It was a monster, somebody completely devoid from any humanity. He had known the SHSL Despair were the embodiment of darkness and despair, but seeing it take the form of the brother he once held in very high regard was something he couldn't accept easily.

Reiji continued breaking Yukio down. –"Want me to tell you what I see, Yukio? I see a failure of an attorney, a failure of an investigator, a failure of a thinker, a failure of a person, and a failure of a brother. That's all you are. A faaaaa-iiiii-luuuure"- he finally jumped away from the podium, still grinning. Yukio couldn't contain himself anymore. He gripped the podium, trying not to completely break down, but he couldn't contain the pain. His nails dug into his palms until he drew blood.

He once again talked to everybody. –"I'm done with all of you. Nice to have met all of you, but this is the end!"-

-"This was fun, Ohmoto-kun. You really brought despair to everybody in this room!"- Monobear approved of Reiji's behavior. The Law Master nodded, pleased –"Now we'll start wi…"-

-"No! Hold it!"- A shaky but surprisingly determined voice resounded through the trial room. Reiji and Monobear looked at Ginchiyo, who was standing in front of her podium –"I'm not going to let this happen without a last fight"-

-"Too bad! The executions will start…"-

-"No, let her talk, Monobear. She just wants to be broken down again. Let her have what she wants"- Reiji cockily walked until he was face to face with Ginchiyo. –"Talk"-

The Filmmaker ignored Reiji and instead asked to Monobear. –"The person who created the plan is the one who gets out, right? Isn't there any chance of an accomplice getting out as well?"-

-"Are you really trying to get out and leave us all here? You're as despicable as him!"- Yamaguchi chastised, disgusted at Ginchiyo's question. However, the Filmmaker turned around and mouthed 'trust me', which was enough for Yamaguchi to be silent.

-"Nope! Only one graduate will get out of here!"- Monobear replied. Ginchiyo saw a little glimmer of hope.

-"And is there any way, no matter how insignificant it is, for somebody other than the mastermind to get out?"-

-"Hmmmm…"- Monobear looked almost cute while he thought –"The only way for somebody other than the mastermind going out would be for an accomplice to do a drastic deviation from the mastermind's plan. Overriding the original plan with a completely unexpected move"-

Yukio also suddenly perked up after hearing that. Could there be a tiny amount of hope? Ginchiyo obviously had caught onto something. He could only hope she would be able to bring everything to a good end.

-"Ohmoto-kun! I claim that I have forced a drastic change to the original plan, something not even you could have expected!"-

Reiji smirked, amused –"Really? Then tell me, Ginchiyo-san. I'm listening…or maybe not"-

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle (Ginchiyo vs Reiji)**

REIJI: It's all useless, woman!

REIJI: What would your sister say?

REIJI: You naïve idiot!

REIJI: Despair all over again!

REIJI: You're wrong!

REIJI: That's not enough!

REIJI: I already won!

REIJI: That's a weak argument

REIJI: You're even worse than Yukio

REIJI: Stop fighting and break down again!

**There weren't any changes to my plan!**

* * *

Reiji had been interrupting Ginchiyo each time she tried to talk, with gestures and words said in a very high tone, as if he wanted to shut her up by not even letting her finish whatever sentence she started.

-"But that's wro…"- Ginchiyo was interrupted when Reiji sucker-punched her in the jaw. The Filmmaker, stunned, staggered back, surprised. When Reiji got his fist again to hit her, she recoiled in anticipation to the blow, but Hikasa's roar interrupted them.

Seeing Ginchiyo being attacked physically gave him enough anger to snap out of his former state. He ran to Reiji, grabbed him, and slammed him onto the floor. The SHSL Despair laughed madly, despite the pain. Hikasa pinned him to the floor. –"Ginchiyo-chan, what were you saying?"-

-"Gin-Ginchiyo-san, you're a moron!"- Reiji shot Ginchiyo a poisoned stare. She winced, obviously unwilling to continue.

_Ginchiyo-san…_

-"Ginchiyo-chan, what were you going to say?!"- Hikasa urged her, but she refused to continue.

-"Now Monobear! Let's"-

-"Wait, Reiji! I have to argue too!"-

Yukio had finally noticed that Ginchiyo was going to say. It had little chances of working, but he thought he knew exactly what words to use to possibly make the day end with as little casualties as possible.

-"Now you, Yukio? Hahahahaha…"- Hikasa pressed him more onto the ground, cutting his laugh short –"Okay, let's have a verbal fight, then!"-

Yukio managed to smile just a little –"I'm not going to talk with you, Reiji. I know very well you don't have the last word here"- the Assistant looked at Monobear –"I'm going to argue with Monobear"-

Reiji scowled –"No. Monobear, start the executions!"-

Monobear lifted his hammer, ready to bring it down on the button in front of his throne. Yukio acted fast –"Monobear, are you going to let him order you around? Did you forget who you are? You're the Mastermind behind our stay in the shelter. You have the ultimate control over us all, and you're going to let one of your preys to tell you what to do and what not?"-

The bear stopped for a moment, his eyes shining red. When he put the hammer down, Yukio added –"Good, looks like you do have some self-respect"-

-"Monobear, stop that! Execute them all! Now!"-

-"Ohmoto-kun's plan was complete! There weren't any drastic changes to what he had planned. You yourself should know better than the rest!"-

-"That's what I had thought"- the Assistant said –"But now I realize things didn't go as he had wanted to. Ginchiyo-san did force themselves to do something unplanned by Reiji, and I can demonstrate she had planned to do it all along! She forced her own plan to prevail over Reiji's!"-

-"What?"- Reiji muttered from the floor, starting to get antsy. Hikasa kept him pressed. Obviously Reiji wanted to stand up and go punch Yukio as well, to shut him up –"Stop, Yukio!"-

Yukio for the first time looked at Reiji and saw him as he was now: the person he needed to leave behind and defeat for everybody else' sake, including Yukio's sake as well.

-"How-How can you overcome your despair? Fall back into it, Ohmoto-kun!"- Monobear bared his claws, ready to fight with Yukio.

**Panic Talk Battle (Monobear)**

MONOBEAR: There's no hope for you!

MONOBEAR: Let me start the executions!

MONOBEAR: It all went according to Ohmoto-kun's plan

MONOBEAR: Upupupupu

MONOBEAR: Despair again! Despair forever!

MONOBEAR: You're hopeless!

MONOBEAR: It all ended here!

MONOBEAR: You voted wrong. Accept it!

MONOBEAR: Ohmoto-kun is getting out of here!

MONOBEAR: Why do you keep fighting?!

**It all went according to Ohmoto-kun's plan!**

_Sakurai's Cause of Death_

* * *

-"Monobear, I find it rather curious that you're willingly ignoring what's obvious to anybody: Reiji's plan went wrong"-

-"I haven't seen anything supporting your words!"- The bear shouted

-"I do have. Reiji's own description of his plan!"-

* * *

_Now, you also got a few things wrong, Yukio. I cut the stake in advance to the murder. The plan was that Ginchiyo-san would stab him with the stake, and afterwards I'd run and bring the rest of the objects after he was murdered. Previously I had left them ready to just be taken, you know, time matters. But Sakurai-kun was indeed pushed into the wires and the blackout happened._

* * *

-"Two things went wrong with Reiji's plan. First than all, Ginchiyo didn't kill Sakurai by stabbing him. Everybody in this place knows that he was electrocuted. We went over and over this matter during the trial!

The second one was the blackout. It's obvious that he did have a flashlight, so it didn't catch him with his guard down, but I doubt he foresaw a blackout! And what's more: that's what saved him from being seen by Kudo-kun when he was gathering the stuff"-

-"No. Kudo-kun saw Ohmoto-kun when he was going to fix the blackout. If the blackout never happened, then Ohmoto-kun would still go unseen!"-

-"But the blackout isn't the core of my argument. What matters is that Ginchiyo-san didn't follow Reiji's plan"-

-"It was mere luck! Just because she killed Sakurai-kun with the wires doesn't mean anything"- Reiji shouted from the ground. Yukio negated with the head.

-"No. Ginchiyo-san did it on purpose. I can prove it"-

-"Time to end this. One chance! What shows Ginchiyo-san planned to deviate from Reiji's plan from the beginning?!"- Monobear shrieked, starting to sweat. Yukio didn't stop to think how a robotic teddy bear was sweating.

-"...It ends now"-

* * *

Monobear File #3

Stake

Piece of Chair

Chairs

State of the Body

Signs of a Struggle

Pool Cue

Lack of Blood

Ventilation Chute

Recorder

Saw

Leather Gloves

Kudo's Testimony

Blackout

Tampered Voltage Box

Rope

Motive

Note

* * *

**Tampered Voltage Box**

* * *

-"Ginchiyo-san always had planned to kill Sakurai-kun with the wires. There's no other reason for the voltage box to have been tampered like it was"- Yukio stated.

Those simple words caused varied reactions. Ginchiyo gasped, Reiji growled, Monobear was taken aback, and the rest of the graduates started to snap out of their shock from their possible deaths. They all saw a way out of their death penalty. Yukio continued, undeterred.

-"This is what actually happened: at some point before Sakurai-kun arrived to the garden, Ginchiyo-san set everything in the box to have really high voltages. Am I right, Ginchiyo-san?"-

Ginchiyo looked at the floor, and seeing that it was the best alternative, she nodded –"I didn't like the idea of stabbing. It was way too messy. If I was going to kill then…I was going to fix Ohmoto-kun's flaws in his plan"-

-"Yes. And tell me, who owned the flashlight?"- Yukio had no evidence to support what he thought, but if he was lucky, he would be right. Ginchiyo looked at him, and then he knew he wasn't, but she had caught on. She was willing to lie.

-"It was mine. I gave it to Ohmoto-kun so he could bring the rope and everything else"-

-"And why would you have a flashlight? Maybe because you expected a blackout to happen?"-

-"Tha-t's a-"- Reiji snarled, starting to get desperate. He struggled, but Hikasa kept holding his down, shutting him up.

-"I was going to throw Sakurai-kun into live wires…it was a possibility"-

-"And there you have it!"- Yukio said, triumphant –"Ginchiyo-san contaminated Reiji's plan with one of her own. She also took into account the consequences of her actions. If this doesn't show that Ginchiyo-san did this on purpose, then nothing will!"-

Monobear didn't react. For a moment, Yukio felt really afraid. He knew the bear could choose to ignore everything he had said and just go with the executions, arguing it was too late to fight. Or to reveal that he knew what Ginchiyo had said was a lie, after all, the IDs allowed him to listen. Or any other possibility that would mean death for all of them except Reiji.

So Yukio played his final card.

-"Also what would give more despair, Monobear? What's worth more? Dying and knowing that it'll be over in mere minutes, with peace beyond the grave, or living knowing that sooner or later somebody would betray? You'll be doing all of us a favor by killing us. And not only that"- Yukio pointed at Reiji, who was watching with barely repressed rage –"How much despair do you think it'll give Reiji to almost have been out of here? He had his reward at the reach of his hands, he revealed his status as SHSL Despair, and he showed his real self to everybody here. All because he was going to be out of here.

And how much despair we'll all have knowing that such a monster will be among us?"-

Yukio finished his speech, and stood back. Monobear didn't react, surely analyzing everything Yukio had said. Somewhere in the bear's programming, he knew two different forces were clashing: the despair-minded stuff Enoshima surely had once said and done through the bear, and the programming the new Mastermind may have input into the bear. Yukio silently prayed that whatever side won, it would be good for him and the rest of the graduates.

Finally, the bear spoke.

-"Upupupu…you make a compelling argument, Ohmoto-kun. I'll accept it"-

Yukio would have jumped around in joy if he hadn't heard Reiji roaring. Somehow, the Law Master freed himself from under Hikasa, and jumped on Yukio, strangling him. Yukio gasped for air while his brother tightened his grip on the Assistant's neck. During all of it, Yukio could see the madness and despair deep inside Reiji's mind and heart.

And despite it all, Yukio didn't care.

Hikasa and Toyogushi pulled Reiji away from Yukio, and this time, both held the thrashing Law Master. Yukio stood up, rubbing his neck.

-"…what a bastard"- he muttered, and returned to his podium. Chiba leaned towards him

-"Good job, Ohmoto-kun. I noticed your strategy"- she complimented.

-"Oh?"-

-"Appealing to both sides of his programming to make him forcefully choose the middle path was a pretty smart move. I didn't think you had it in you"- she smiled. Yukio grinned nervously

_That really wasn't something I had in mind_

-"It's now time to end this trial!"- Monobear shouted –"But there won't be voting. You all voted already for the new mastermind!"-

It was true. They all had voted Ginchiyo. And…since he had demonstrated Ginchiyo had successfully changed Reiji's plan, that meant Ginchiyo was the new mastermind behind the murder.

Ginchiyo, a relatively innocent person, blackmailed into helping Reiji to kill, was going to be executed.

And Reiji, the monster that had tried to break down everybody before leaving them to their deaths, was going to live.

Suddenly he felt like he had doomed everybody again.

She knew too she was going to die in little time. Ginchiyo gathered her courage and stood in the center of the circle. –"…I'm really, really sorry I helped to create this mess…good luck, everybody. I'll miss you all"-

She wasn't sure how to continue, so she started to look around as if she expected somebody to tell her what to say. Toyogushi nudged Hikasa and whispered him something. The Weightlifter nodded and let Reiji go, after making sure Toyogushi would be able to restrain the SHSL Despair.

Hikasa walked to Ginchiyo and enveloped her into a tight hug. She winced, but returned the hug. –"It's all okay. Thank you for everything, Ginchiyo-chan"-

They hugged until Monobear lost his patience. –"Enough of this! It's time to finally execute somebody here!"- He lifted his hammer and hit the button in front of his throne, activating the executing mechanism.

The clamp launched from the entrance, and grasped Ginchiyo's neck, pulling her away of Hikasa, until she disappeared into the darkness. Monobear went away as well.

Everybody gathered around the screen that would show the Filmmaker's execution, wondering how it would be and hoping it wouldn't be painful or embarrassing. Soon the screen showed what they reluctantly were waiting for.

* * *

**_Sunday Matinée_ **

The screen showed the inside of what looked like a cinema. Monobear was sitting alone, with a bucket of popcorn, watching a black and white version of The Flight of the Red Crane. This scene lasted for a minute, making the graduates wonder where Ginchiyo was. Could she have escaped?

Soon whatever camera was showing the execution moved, and zoomed into a room adjacent to the cinema. In there was a ridiculously huge reel camera, shining its light beam on the cinema screen. The reel of the movie, which was enormous as well, was held between the wheels of the camera and a contraption on the other side of the room, creating a slow cycle. And sitting on the film was Ginchiyo.

She was resigned to die. Sighing, she stood up and slowly walked on the film, looking at each scene of her movie that passed beneath her feet. With each step, the camera reeled faster and faster, until Ginchiyo was unable to stand up. She fell, and sat again. This time, she faced towards her destination.

Soon the camera brought her on top of the wheel. When she was about to fall into the mechanism of the camera, Ginchiyo's face contorted, in preparation to her death. Then she fell.

In the cinema, a red tint, Ginchiyo's blood, filled the screen, getting redder, and chunks of what was previously Ginchiyo dotted the scenes. She had been completely grinded by the camera. Monobear, seeing what he had come to see, stood up and clapped, celebrating the death of the Filmmaker.

* * *

-"And with that, one bastard more bites the dust!"- Monobear shouted, while the rest of the graduates except Reiji paled, trying to look away. Hikasa looked especially bad, as he had just seen the person he loved being turned into little more than paste.

-"Ginchiyo-san…"-

Kudo approached Hikasa and gave him a few pats in the back, but the Weightlifter rejected his touch. –"Leave me alone"- he said, leaving the trial room.

-"…Poor Hikasa-kun. That must have been mortifying for him…"- Chiba mused, looking at the floor –"Hopefully he won't shut in his room forever"-

-"He has a strong soul, I'm sure he'll be able to recover"- Curtis said, opening the trial room door. Toyogushi, having been left alone in restraining Reiji, dragged the despaired Law Master to the way. The SHSL Despair had stopped thrashing, and now was satisfied looking at the remains of Ginchiyo plastered on the screen of the cinema.

-"What will we do with that asshole?"- Toriumi asked, taking off her glasses

-"Lock him somewhere and throw away the key. None of us will be safe while he's around"- Yamaguchi replied, disgusted with the presence of the SHSL Despair in the shelter.

-"What's the worse he can do? We all know who he really is. None of us will accept anything he says or does. He'll be ostracized by us all, and nobody will want to be alone in the same room than him. I think we're more or less safe"- Yukio said, opening the door after waiting for a while. He didn't want to see Reiji.

-"Ohmoto-kun is right, let's see where everything goes from here first. I'll try to think of a contingence plan to minimize this bastard's impact in us, meanwhile, ignore anything he says and keep an eye on him"- Chiba ordered.

Nobody talked while they settled in the cafeteria for dinner. Chiba gave everybody their ration, and commented that the food was getting all scarcer and that everybody should get on the ball soon on the Mastermind hunt or everybody would soon starve.

Yukio listened as if he were underwater. He had his mind busy with other matters. Once he finished his ration, he left towards the third section. He remembered that now that another trial had happened, the shutter in the maintenance room would open, allowing walking into the fourth section of the shelter.

The Assistant entered the infirmary, and saw Ogata still in come. He brought a nearby chair to the side of the bed and sat on it, breathing heavily. Then he let everything putrid and pathetic he had held onto that moment spill from his heart.

-"Akane-chan, you won't believe the hell of a trial we just went through…"-

-ooooo-

Veritas kept staring at the computer terminal, bags under his eyes. He had continued waiting for his chance to strike, but there were no changes. Still no signal for him to take over Monobear.

For the moment he was alone. Vieiras had been sent to check the fifth Board Member, who had finished his resting period after the brainwashing, and Valkyrie was commanding the forces of the organization. So far, Volkos' betrayal had been kept as a secret, so the moral in the organization was more or less alright.

-"Master, I have a matter to discuss"-

Valkyrie entered, carrying a stack of papers. Veritas asked what she had in mind.

-"One of the rookies is missing"- she replied. Veritas raised an eyebrow

-"Who is it?"-

-"Balam"-

-"That…tells me nothing. I need a name, Valkyrie"- she passed him a file. In the front there was a photo of a teenager with blue-green hair and a scowl that practically said "you're not worthy of taking my photo"

-"Oh, it's him. Miyata"-

-"Nobody has seen him for at least a week. Everything seems to point he received a letter from the Future Foundation, calling him to that shelter"-

-"Then he better not be dead"- Veritas gritted his teeth –"Killing a partner is unforgivable. Volkos will wish he never crossed my path if Miyata is dead"-

-"It's just a rookie, Master"- Valkyrie replied, crossing her arms. He looked at her straight to the eyes.

-"We're supposed to be a team, Valkyrie. And betrayal is the biggest sin anybody can commit. I won't tolerate such thing, and nobody in this organization will"-

As soon as Veritas turned around to face the screen, Valkyrie grinned. She gladly would fill the leader with lead, if the opportunity presented itself. Before she could leave, Vieiras entered the room, followed by a rather strong-looking person. –"Master, it's time".

Veritas nodded, and stood up, walking to the fifth member of the Main Board. –"What was your former name and codename"-

-"Runihura Acurio, Master. I was Belphegor"- he replied, with an intimidating baritone. Veritas nodded again

-"From now on, you'll leave both names behind. You'll be known everywhere by the name you'll choose. Hmmm…since you went through the process twice, I think it's fitting your name starts with a W. Say it"-

He didn't take too long to think his new name. –"Wolfenmaus"-

-"Wolfenmaus? Isn't that the name of a tank?"- Vieiras whispered to Valkyrie. She chuckled

-"Who knows. Who cares"-

-"So from now on, your only name will be Wolfenmaus, until the moment of your death. Welcome to the Main Board"- Veritas bowed, and returned to the front of the computer terminal.

-"No progress yet, Master?"- Vieiras asked, approaching

-"None. I'm starting to lose my patience. If I can't manage to pass the signal through soon, I'll have to take drastic measures"-

Vieiras showed his amusement. –"Excellent. Got something in mind?"-

-"Not yet. However, we should get ready. Gather some forces and instruct them to get ready to tear off the door of that shelter. If the signal can't get in, then we ourselves will have to.

Once we're in, find Volkos, and kill that traitor, along with anybody who stands in the way. But not yet. Let me wait for a little longer"- Veritas ordered, rubbing his temples tiredly.

**Chapter 3: Stakes Over the Heart**

**END**


	24. Chapter 4 - We All Wish for a Happy Ending - (Ab)normal Days I

Akane yawned and opened her eyes, to see her room in Hope's Peak. She stirred, and sat. She knew what came now: another day inside the school she had loved.

This wasn't the first day she was spending in there. It was around the fourth day now. What worried her the most was that the whole school was mostly empty. There were only four students in it, including her.

She put on her lab coat, and went to the gym. She sure had missed the huge gym. How many times had she been in there before? She forgot, but she was there for a reason: to reunite with her three friends. And they were there, sitting on the benches.

-"Ogata-san!"- Sawashiro ran to her, taking her from the hand cheerily. Saitou and Matsukaze were waiting for her already. The Chemist smiled. She really had thought she'd never see them again.

-"Hey guys"-

-"Morning Ogata-san. I hope you slept well"- Matsukaze took off his hat cordially, while Saitou smiled warmly. After a bit of small talk, they continued the topic they had been discussing during the last four days.

-"So, I'm still halfway dead, eh?"- Akane said casually, as if being in coma weren't graver than stubbing her toe.

-"Indeed. And every day you spend here lessens your chances of awakening"- Saitou nodded.

-"But how can I wake up? I have tried everything, but my body simply doesn't get the memo"- Akane complained. The three encouraged her to not to give up. Looking at them cheering her, she couldn't avoid feeling lucky to have them around.

Sure, at first she had been pretty freaked out when they had welcomed her when she first awoke in Hope's Peak. She even screamed 'Oh fuck, ghosts!' while running around the school. It took them a day to convince her that they weren't ghosts or true representations of the dead people in the shelter. They were merely figments of her mind. Basically, ways for her subconscious to tell her things she already knew but may not realize of remember, although their primary function in the recent times was to give her words of encouragement.

-"There's nothing else to do than continuing trying, Ogata-san. Don't give up"- Saitou said. The Chemist nodded, ready.

-"I'll do it"-. She got in middle of the gym, sat down and started chanting. –"I must wake up. There are people out there who need me. My friends, both alive and dead, want me to wake up. And I will"- she chanted it over and over, while Saitou, Sawashiro and Matsukaze walked around her.

-ooooo-

When Yukio awoke at the next morning, his first thought was 'what did they do with Reiji?'. He wasn't worried about him as a brother. He was more worried as if they had dealt with him efficiently enough to avoid any trouble.

It had been agreed that they needed to hogtie Reiji and leave him somewhere far from everybody. Right now they had him in the broken lockers room, but everybody felt uncomfortable. It was just way too close to the areas they spent most of the time in.

Maybe in the fourth area there would be a place. After telling Ogata everything about the trial, he directly went to sleep while the rest explored the fourth section. Now it was time for him to see what was new.

-"Good morning, Ohmoto"- Hikasa greeted. Yukio was surprised. He had expected the Weightlifter to stay sobbing in his room for a week. Seeing him around with everybody was a clear indication that he was stronger mentally than what he had given him credit for. Still, he couldn't avoid asking.

-"Are you okay, Hikasa-kun?"-

Hikasa's polite smile dropped. –"No, I'm not okay. What a coincidence you ask that, seeing how your meddling is what led to Ginchiyo-chan's death. Thank you very much, Ohmoto, how can I repay you for SUCH a good favor?"- Hikasa's voice was dripping with sarcasm. He clearly now had a very big grudge against the Assistant. However, after that, he calmed down –"But if I stay mad at you while I'm in this shelter then I'll play into that bear's paws. I don't want that. So I decided to restrain myself until we're out"-

-"Eeeh…thank you?"-

-"But you can't deny that if you hadn't fought so hard your brother would have been voted guilty and Ginchiyo would be alive"- Toriumi said, pouncing on the chance. Great. Another graduate with a bone to pick with Yukio.

-"Look, I'm sorry. I really had thought Reiji wouldn't kill, but I clearly was wrong"-

-"Yes, and you almost get us killed. In the next trials, you should keep your mouth shut"-

-"Toriumi-san!"- Yamaguchi exclaimed, surprised at the Tutor's bitterness.

-"Ohmoto-kun, don't take it personally. But I think you should know that we all discussed this, and while you did put all of us in danger during the trial, we can't deny Ginchiyo-san and you also saved us. So…most of us forgive you for everything"- Toyogushi said. Other graduates muttered agreements.

-"Now that we left our problem with Ohmoto-kun, the good one, aside, we should focus on the most important matter right now: finding the Mastermind"- Chiba stood up to get everybody's attention –"Yesterday I said that the food is scarcer. It's a serious matter; we need to get out of here before we don't have anything to eat"-

-"But no new room has given us clues about the Mastermind's identity"- Yukio replied –"At least the ones I have seen…and I haven't checked the new ones from the fourth section

-"We could take into account Monobear's behavior and words, then"- Chiba countered –"Come on, this is our lives we're fighting for! Does nobody really have any suspects?"-

-"We all know this Vorudemoto guy is the Mastermind, but we're not really closer to finding his or her real name"- Toriumi muttered, leaning back on her chair –"I remember a theory we had was that the SHSL Despair among us was the Mastermind"-

-"Oh! Ohmoto-kun, the evil one, could be the Mastermind. I noticed some similarities in that uy's speech patterns and Monobear's speech patterns!"- Toyogushi pointed.

-"That's actually good evidence! It could be possible. Ohmoto-kun, the evil one, is the only one among us that is twisted enough to make us all kill ourselves"- Yamaguchi supported, then she frowned –"Can we give him some other name other than 'Ohmoto-kun, the evil one'? It's stupid"-

-"Call him Enoshima's Little Asskisser"- Yukio muttered, making Toyogushi stifle a laugh

-"Just call him Reiji"- Curtis leaned on the table –"But I doubt he's the Mastermind. I think that if he actually were, Monobear wouldn't have accepted Ohmoto-kun's plan and we'd all be six feet under…well, we already are, but you get the gist"- the Artist pointed at the ceiling

-"It's a despair agent we're talking about. He'd look for the biggest amount of despair possible, even if it came at the cost of he staying longer in here"-

-"Leaving Reiji aside, who else could be a suspect?"- Hikasa asked.

-"I think we can't rule out our dead partners from being the Mastermind. This is an AI, remember. Even with the Mastermind dead, that damned bear could continue with this game. So, who do you all suspect?"-

Going in order from Yukio's right side, all of them gave their opinions.

-"I suspect Chiba-san"- Yamaguchi said. Chiba widened her eyes, sincerely surprised –"Look, you have been leading us from the beginning. What if you're the Mastermind and made yourself our leader to mislead us away from the truth?"-

-"But surely you have something more, right?"- Chiba asked, nervous. Yamaguchi sighed

-"Well, it is flimsy, but I think you having something like a signal interceptor points towards you. Would the Mastermind let you have something that could control Monobear? I doubt it. Oh, and your abilities does seem like they'd help to set this game"-

It was now Toriumi's turn. –"I suspect Toyogushi-kun"- the Stuntsman hummed, waiting for Toriumi to continue –"You haven't done an effort to get out of here. It's like you're coasting along waiting for us to do everything. I don't like that not a little bit"-

-"I have tried, I just haven't found anything"- he tried to defend himself and keep his eyes open. He was pretty sleepy. Toriumi pointed at him

-"There's also that little trait of yours to almost fall asleep all the time. What if it isn't because you stay inactive? What if it is because you stay awake during the nights, possibly dealing with Monobear's programming and who knows what else?"-

-"It's a medical condition, young lady"-

-"I know that Reiji suspects Toyogushi-kun as the Mastermind"- Chiba said –"But he didn't give his reasons.

-"Who cares what he thinks?"- Yukio mumbled. The Strategist looked at him

-"Despite everything he did, he still could be innocent, and his opinions shall be listened. Who do you think is the Mastermind, Kudo-kun?"-

-"I…I'm sorry Yamaguchi-san. I think that you being Enoshima-san's mentee would leave you exposed to her despairing beliefs. Maybe you did start following them"-

Yamaguchi sighed –"Not surprised. I knew I'd suspected of being the Mastermind"-

-"But it isn't a strong suspicion"- Kudo added quickly –"It's more of a hunch"- Yamaguchi nodded, not entirely convinced.

Chiba's turn. –"I'll agree with Toriumi-san. Toyogushi-kun is my prime suspect"-

The mentioned graduate slumped in his chair –"Oh, come on! I'm just a Stuntsman! How could I lock all of us in this place and force each other to kill? Not to mention dealing with Monobear?"-

-"Did you forget that it was a high school fashion girl the one who caused society to end?"- Toriumi replied, bemused. Toyogushi groaned

-"But she had charisma, determination and a bunch of other stuff I don't have. You can't really put us on the same level!"-

-"You don't need to be in the same level. You just need to have enough resources to cause this predicament"- Chiba responded. Toyogushi threw his hands in the air

-"I give up. Suspect me all you want"-

-"It's my turn now, isn't it?"- Curtis thought for a moment –"Hikasa-kun. I'd say it's him"-

-"Oh? What?"- Hikasa leaned forward, as if he had heard wrong

-"…I don't really have a reason. It's just that…man, something feels wrong. I feel there's a way for you to be involved, but I can't think what"- Curtis took off his beanie, frustrated

-"Then shut up and just say you suspect no one"- Toriumi chided –"Hikasa-kun, give your suspect"-

-"Other than Reiji, I think Miyata-kun would be the only one evil enough to trap us here"-

-"But Monobear himself killed him…and he died because he accidentally said the forbidden word. Would he forget not to say it if he was the one to program it?"- Yamaguchi said. Hikasa merely shrugged

-"Accidents happen, right? He could just have forgotten"-

-"His words before dying doesn't seem to point at him as the Mastermind, either"- Toyogushi closed his eyes –"They seemed way too sincere, nothing like theatrics to confuse us. I think Matsukaze-kun is my suspect"-

-"What…just…what?"- Chiba really wasn't amused by Toyogushi's opinion. He fidgeted under her glare

-"I-It's just that I think it's pretty odd that just when he was supposedly so close to find the Mastermind, bam, he dies. It could be that he pretended to have such goal just so he could fake his death and be marked as innocent"-

-"And what about Miyata-kun? He killed him!"- Hikasa screamed, trying to understand Toyogushi's logic

-"Well, he didn't kill Matsukaze-kun…Miyata-kun was on the Mastermind's side, right? He was an accomplice. They could have faked Matsukaze-kun's death…and when Miyata-kun was betrayed, he tried to reveal the trick"-

-"I helped Ogata-san to examine the crime scene. I'm sure Matsukaze is dead"- Toriumi shook her head in disbelief

-"That was a…yeeeeeah…a fake body created by them"- Toyogushi said, very unsure about his words. Kudo groaned loudly

-"That's such an outlandish theory that it doesn't even warrant giving it serious thought"- the Philanthropist hit the table with the fist –"Then why the hell does it sound possible and makes sense to me?"-

-"No, Matskuzake-kun isn't the Mastermind, I reject that idea"- Yukio intervened –"It's more likely Miyata-kun is the Mastermind"-

-"That was an interesting variety of opinions"- Toriumi cleaned her glasses –"At least we know that most of us haven't wasted our time here looking at our navels while we wait to die"-

-"Uuh…guys, I have to ask…what did you do with Reiji?"- Yukio finally decided to ask

-"Don't worry. He's in a safe place, exactly where he deserves"- Curtis replied, smiling

-ooooo-

-"You're chained to a freaking toilet?!"-

-"Chained is a funny word, eh? This is no chain. This is a rope. Is 'roped' a word? I'm sure it is"-

Reiji lifted the rope that tied him to the toilet and laughed at his own bad joke. Yukio facepalmed.

He had been told Reiji had been locked into one of the new rooms, in the recently opened fourth section. Curtis gave him the exact location, so Yukio went to see if his brother was restrained enough to not to be a problem.

What he didn't expect is that an abandoned bathroom would be the SHSL Despair's prison. –"It's just that I can't believe they thought this was the best place to put you"-

-"Oh, I don't complain. At least I have a bathroom. It could be worse"-

Yukio closed his eyes, trying to restrain any traces of the brotherly love he once had. –"Look, just stay here and don't cause any problems"-

-"As if I could move!"- Reiji once again showed the rope

Yukio ignored him and got out of the bathroom. Chiba had been waiting outside, carrying a tray with some food. She entered after Yukio and quickly left the tray on the floor in front of Reiji. She practically bolted out of the room. –"Goodness, it's like having a maniac as a war prisoner"- she muttered

-"What was that with the tray?"-

-"It's just food. We can't leave him starve to death, can we? Most did want to, but if he dies because we neglected feeding him then Monobear will do a really shameless trial to pin the blame on one of us"-

-"So are we taking turns to give him food?"- Yukio asked, going towards the other rooms of the new section

-"Exactly. You never got notified because you once again went to sleep without even reuniting with us"- she reprimanded –"So yes, I organized a system for us to feed him. Nobody wants to go alone, though. Reiji's such a creep"- she then informed Yukio of when it would be his turn, and told him to get a partner when it's time.

Yukio opened the biggest door he found. Inside there was the biggest room he had seen in the shelter so far. A big rectangle-shaped hole in the floor and some old bleachers on the sides of the room told him that it was supposed to be a pool.

-"Awesome, a pool!"- he exclaimed, approaching the hole. He then grimaced, grossed by the amount of mold and other similar substances littering the walls and floor of the empty pool space.

-"Nobody here is going to clean that, so no pool for anybody"- Chiba said, approaching as well –"So this room ended being useless. So much for that filter in the maintenance room"-

-"What else is there to see in this fourth section?"-

-"Hmmmm…the power generator in the maintenance room is now available for everybody. The possibility of an intentional blackout is actually high. Other than that, there are a couple other new rooms. Follow me"-

Chiba and Yukio left the pool room, and walked to the other side of the section. There was a very ornamentated door, and a shutter near it. Yukio strained to look into the darkness beyond that shutter. –"There's a fifth section. How big is this shelter? A place like this can't have been built quickly"-

-"We haven't found anything about that. Now, this is a chapel"- she opened the door, letting Yukio enter. Inside, their steps echoed in the cavernous room. Rows of benches, a dolly, a chest, and a large stone table were the only things in the so-called chapel. –"Nothing too impressive, but it's obvious here some kind of religious ceremonies would have taken place"-

Yukio opened the chest. There weren't many things. A few books about different religions, a silver dagger, and what looked like a very gaudy goblet. Satisfied with his examination of the chapel, he accompanied Chiba to another room

-"Here are a few laboratories"- The room itself was a storage. Several bottles of unknown content and powders of suspicious appearance filled several cabinets –"These chemicals are mostly useless for our situation. Just in case, I jammed the know, poison danger and all that"- Yukio tried to open the cabinets, but all of them were stuck

-"Good thinking"- he complimented

-"It's simple damage control"- she replied, smiling. There was a number of doors on one side, and behind them were what seemed like a lot of beakers and burners –"Ogata-san would have loved this place, eh?"-

-"Definitely"- he replied, wishing the Chemist could see it

-"She'll wake up, Ohmoto-kun. Trust me, you're not the only person that feels a lot of appreciation towards her…or something more"-

The tone of her words kinda piqued his curiosity –"Do you like Akane-ch…Ogata-san? Like, _like like_?"-

The Strategist laughed nervously –"Well, she's my type, yes. I just don't go around flaunting my crushes"-

Yukio didn't know how to reply. Instead, he left the laboratories and went towards the last unexplored place. When he opened it, he was surprised to find a file cabinet. It was the only thing in the room. She tried to open it, but it didn't work. –"What's this doing here?"-

-"It's my own file cabinet"-

Monobear had appeared behind Yukio. Startled, he crashed against the cabinet, making the bear laugh –"Suuuuurprise!"-

-"Ow…why the hell do you need a file cabinet and why isn't it in your office?"-

-"Here is where you bastards' life is stored. Inside these files you'll see everything Hope's Peak knew about you lot. And now it's all mine!"- Monobear tapped the cabinet –"Hope's Peak really was nosy, eh?"-

-"So…could I see its contents?"-

-"Upupupupu…of course not! Are you really aching to see what I have about you, Ohmoto-kun? Are you hiding something?"-

-"It's just for investigative purposes"-

-"Too bad! New rule, which I'll make shortly: any type of damage to this cabinet will be punished"-

Monobear left the cabinet room, leaving Yukio still trying to force open the cabinet without damaging it. If the bear was going to make a rule about the cabinet, then its contents would be important, right?

Soon he had to give up. Sighing, he decided to return to the first section. He had nothing better to do other than talking to some of the other graduates, although he didn't have a lot of time for that

-ooooo-

Reiji examined carefully the tray Chiba had brought, and once he was done, he slammed it against the floor. Over and over again, until it shattered. He picked up each piece, dragging his finger over the edges, until he found one ragged enough to cut.

Then he started to try cutting the rope. It was going to take a while, but he was sure he'd be free if he kept going.


	25. Chapter 4 - We All Wish for a Happy Ending - (Ab)normal Days II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was notified there's a TvTropes page about my story.
> 
> Thank you everybody. Really, thank you.

Yukio idled around the shelter. The place wasn't so bad when people weren't killing each other at the slightest motive, but it sure could get boring if one didn't keep the mind busy.

The Assistant absent-mindedly entered the Lounge, and sat on the fountain edge. A splash behind the fountain startled him, almost making him fall. _What in the…_

-"Did I scare you? I'm sorry"-

Curtis emerged from behind the fountain. He had a tube of what looked like oil paint in his hands, and carefully he had been adding drops of water into it.

-"Why are you taking water from the fountain?"-

-"The plumbing of my bathroom is faulty. I need water for this"- he signaled the tube of paint.

-"You find time to paint while we're locked in here?"- Yukio asked. The Artist shrugged while he mixed the contents of the tube.

-"Whatever helps one to keep the mind busy"-

-"But what could you be painting at a time like this?"- Curtis didn't reply. He instead changed topics, and quickly hid the tube of paint in his pocket.

-"I'm more concerned on what you do to get rid of boredom! If you get bored, won't you kill?"-

-"I…I think I have better control than that…"-

-"That's what everybody says, but even the kindest and mentally healthy person can break down under the right conditions. I'd say this shelter has all the requirements for that"- Curtis spoke with great confidence, which Yukio couldn't avoid noticing.

-"You sound as if you went through that before"-

-"I have lived in this world. People fell into despair, and I was the one in charge to find the reasons, so I could help them. If I didn't do it, then who?"-

-"Did anybody close to you fall into despair?"- Yukio asked. Curtis shook his head vehementl

-"Nobody close to me. There aren't any people in this world that could be called 'close to me'. They're already long gone, so I dedicate my life to help strangers to not to fall into despair. No matter what I have to do"-

Yukio was surprised. Curtis hadn't struck him as the type who would do such a thing. That made him realize how little he actually knew the rest of the graduates. –"But what can an Artist do to help?"-

-"Yeah…what can a simple and insignificant Artist do…"- he said bitterly. Yukio, noticing he had said something he shouldn't have, hurriedly changed his tone

-"B-B-But surely Kudo-kun and you would do a good team! You both seek to help others, and he's a Philanthropist. Surely if you go with him you'll be able to learn a thing or two"-

-"…I have known Kudo-kun for a good while already. I do work with him, you know!"-

-"You do?"- Kudo had never mentioned anything about Curtis before, much less that he worked with him –"Why hasn't he said anything about that?"-

-"Have you ever asked? He's of that type of people that replies 'oh, you never asked'"- Curtis said, smiling slyly –"But leaving that aside, we should find a way to keep you entertained at least for an hour. You're too much of a good person just to be let fall into murder. Let me think…"-

-"Oh, it won't be neces…"-

-"I insist. Come with me, there's something I'd like to do but I need help"-

Curtis grabbed Yukio's wrist and pulled him until they reached Curtis' room. He swiftly opened it and finally let Yukio's wrist go. –"Sit over there, please"- he pointed at the bed.

While Curtis rummaged in his desk, Yukio looked around. It was far from what he thought the Artist's room would look like. There were no canvases or paintings or anything similar. In fact, it was mostly empty. _Maybe everything he uses as an Artist is in the desk or the closet_

-"Aha, here we go"- Curtis took a measuring tape from his desk and approached Yukio –"This may be somewhat odd and awkward, but I'd be really grateful if you helped me.

-"Uuuuh…alright…"- Yukio replied, unsure.

_Curtis spent the following hour measuring everything about my face_

-ooooo-

Yukio went towards the cafeteria, weirded out by Curtis' behavior. That wasn't what he expected. The Assistant calmed down telling to himself that he was merely measuring his face so he could…paint a portrait, maybe?

Whatever that was, he didn't have too long to think about it.

-"Bastards! Come to the Conference Room. It's time to stick to hurry things up once again!"-

_Great_

Monobear's voice sounded through the speaker, startling Yukio. After he calmed down, he slowly went towards the Conference Room, wondering what the teddy bear would want now.

Much to his relief, he noticed that Sakurai's body was now gone. While the screen was still broken and the chairs were still in disarray, at least the corpse wasn't there. Where did Monobear put it?

All the graduates soon arrived, taking the fallen chairs and sitting on them. When everybody had reunited, Monobear appeared behind the podium.

-"There are less and less graduates each time. I'm starting to get lonely and saaaad…"-

Nobody replied. They knew it was a waste of time to say anything. They just let Monobear try to goad them into protesting or saying anything, until finally the robot gave up .

-"Whatever. Since I value very much your happy lives, I have decided to help to make it even better! If you surrender to the murderous thoughts you sure have and survive the trial, your prize will be…"-

Monobeat stopped dramatically, while everybody else had a bored expression –"…a wish! I'll concede a wish to the culprit who manages to get out of here!"-

-"A wish…what type of wish?"-Toyogushi mumbled, half-asleep.

-"Whatever you want! Money? Power? All the honey you can eat? My charming presence for the rest of your life? Anything is fair game!"-

-"And what if we ask for something you don't want or can't do?"- Toriumi asked, seemingly interested

-"Then it'll be a waste of a wish, but the culprit will still get out of here"-

-"Non-Nonsense. Who here would kill for a promise that may not even be fulfilled?"- Yamaguchi said, clearly unsure of her own words. Judging by the rest of the graduates' expression, everybody had something to wish for.

This was a motive that had effectively piqued everybody's curiosity and attention. Monobear was pleased.

The motive reunion lasted less than the other three times, mostly because, since the graduates didn't protest or cry in outrage, it all ended quicker.

-"Wow, a wish. That is actually an interesting motive"- Yamaguchi muttered. She had shown some reticence, but the truth is that she was as interested as the rest

-"Whoever kills and is successful could really improve his or her own life outside"- Yukio commented –"I would wish for a way to restore Reiji to normal"-

-"Remove the despair from him? Hah! How could that even be done?"- Toriumi said, with obvious contempt. The Assistant shrugged

-"Maybe there's a way and the Mastermind knows it"-

-"But remember this is Monobear. I'm sure there may be some kind of hidden clause in the whole wish thing"-Curtis reminded everybody. This killed most of the discussion, as the graduates saw that, even if they got away with killing, it didn't guarantee they'd get what they wanted –"I think we should all keep our eyes on everybody else. We all saw that this motive wasn't really rejected by anybody. We all are potential victims to a killer"-

-"But we have been all together for a while already. Don't we have some kind of connection that will stop us from killing each other?"- Yukio asked naively.

-"The sad truth is that we don't really know much about each other"- Yamaguchi replied, gloomly –"For all we know, one of us may be plotting murder now, leading to our collective deaths"-

Nobody talked for a while, knowing how grave their situation was now. The scarce food and an appealing motive practically guaranteed somebody's death. But who would give into murderous intent first? And who would be the victim?

-ooooo-

Yukio was in his room, looking at the heavy statue that had been included with his room and wondering if there was any way he could use it in a murder. While he was indeed thinking about that, he was sure that he wouldn't really do it.

He wasn't willing to kill anybody in the shelter. If they still were complete strangers, he would, but now that he had been some time with them he just couldn't look at them as if they were disposable people.

Besides, although he knew what he would wish, he had no idea if Monobear would be able to remove Reiji's despair or if he knew a way. Yukio wouldn't risk killing and being caught for something that may not even be possible.

However…the temptation was still there. The Assistant hoped he would resist.

For some reason, thinking about restoring his brother to normal made him want to talk to Reiji. With that in mind, Yukio left his room and went towards the abandoned bathroom. When he entered, he saw Reiji sitting on the floor, as if he had been thinking about something.

-"…Reiji?"-

The SHSL Despair lifted his eyes from the floor –"Yukio. What do you need?"-

-"…I just wanted to talk"-

-"There isn't anything to talk. I'd be grateful if you left me alone"-

-"Reiji, how did you turn into a SHSL Despair?"-

-"Oh, it was wonderful! Amazing! Enoshima-sensei enlightened me with her words and showed me the truth!"- Reiji was speaking with great admiration –"She showed me what I hadn't realized before and gave me a purpose in life!"-

-"…Didn't you have all that before? I'm sure you did…"-

-"I did have some purposes I don't remember now, but they were aaaaaall lies. Enoshima-sensei told me that"-

-"Reiji, you and I were a legal team. You had a purpose"-

-"All I was to you was an Assistant, wasn't I? You looked down on me, didn't you? I wasn't as good as you, SHSL Law Assistant forever"-

-"Reiji, do you really think I thought of you as less than me?"- Yukio asked, hurt. Reiji nodded without a doubt. The Assistant sighed –"Enoshima really did do an amazing job on you"-

-"She's the best. Maybe you would have been the one to follow her if things hadn't gone as they did"-

Reiji's words piqued Yukio's curiosity. -"What?"-

-"Oh, did I say too much? I'll now zip my mouth and say nothing!"- He made the gesture, liking how disappointed Yukio looked. Yukio sighed, defeated, and left the room.

What did Reiji mean? Would there have ever been a situation where he would have followed Enoshima? _No, I wouldn't have fallen for her despair…_

_…right?_

_Reiji taunted me until I left._

-ooooo-

-"This is really odd"-

When Chiba entered the cafeteria, she nearly threw a fit when she saw what had been done. Somebody had taken out everything that was on the pantry and laid it on the table, and when Chiba tried to open the pantry, she found out it was locked.

Her grunts of exasperation got some graduates' attention, who soon wandered into the cafeteria wondering what had made Chiba so angry. Yamaguchi had been the one to utter that line.

-"More like moronic. We're running out of food and somebody was doing who knows what with it. Hopefully nothing was lost"- Hikasa grumbled. Chiba messed with her hair and shrieked "who did this?!"

-"Calm down, Chiba-san! It's all okay"- Yukio tried to calm down the hysterical Strategist, but she continued her rambling

-"No, it's not okay! Don't you see how bad this is?! Somebody is messing with the food! What if it was tampered in any way?"-

-"Ugh, I doubt anybody here would tamper the food. Besides, there's nothing of the sort that would…oh"- Yamaguchi remembered the laboratories and the cabinets with chemicals –"B-But I'm sure nobody here would do that. Besides, you jammed the cabinets with the chemicals, Chiba-san, it's impossible anybody took something from there"-

Chiba slowly snapped out of her hysteria, taking deep breaths until she calmed down. –"Alright, two of you go check the cabinets. If there's any unlocked or the glasses of the cabinets is broken come back here immediately and inform us"- she ordered. Toyogushi and Yukio obeyed, and a few minutes later they came back

-"We checked all the chemical cabinets. All of them are exactly as you left them, and nothing is broken. I think the food is safe"- Toyogushi informed, panting. Chiba nodded

-"That's a relief. Sorry for the spectacle, everybody. I just…kind of lost control…"- she apologized. The graduates responded with gentle words.

-"We should put the food in the kitchen"- Curtis said the obvious, and grabbed a few of the cans. The rest followed his example, and soon all the food items that were in the pantry now were neatly organized in the kitchen and the fridge.

Nobody claimed responsibility for what had happened. –"If none of us did it, then who put all the food out of the pantry?"- Kudo wondered aloud

-"I bet it was Reiji. It's the only logical conclusion"- Toriumi stated, confident.

-"He's tied in that bathroom, I did it myself. Besides, any of us could have done it and then lie. It's that simple"- Curtis intervened, taking the dust off his hands. -"Besides, I think it's more puzzling that the pantry is locked. I didn't even know it needed a key"-

-"It surely came from that lot of keys Monobear has in his office. I'll interrogate him and try to find out who got permission to enter the office"- Chiba left the cafeteria and called for the bear. Nobody followed her, trusting she'd tell them if anything good surfaced.

-"Like hell Monobear is going to answer truthfully. Well, as long as nothing bad happens, that pantry may as well stay locked, for all I care"- Curtis said

-"Is Reiji still tied?"- Yamaguchi asked to Toyogushi and Yukio. The latter nodded.

-"We checked when we went to the fifth section. He's still tied to that toilet"-

-"It's official. One of us lied. But why would one put all that food out of the pantry and lock it? I see no reason for that"- Toyogushi added. Everybody around shrugged in response. Nobody had any idea why that would happen.

-ooooo-

Yukio was wandering around in the shelter, thinking about the incident with the pantry. During his walk, he passed in front of the infirmary. _My turn is next, but I may as well be here for a while first_

The Assistant entered the infirmary. Toriumi was on the side, reading. From the entrance, Yukio could see that Toriumi's hands were slightly shaking, and seemed to have cried.

-"Toriumi-san"-

She lifted her eyes from the book, and looked away quickly while she removed her eyes and dried her tears –"Oh, it's you"-

-"Is there something wrong?"-

-"It's nothing. I was reading a sad story"-

 _I don't think The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a sad story_ Yukio suspected what really made Toriumi be like that, but he prudently decided to not to say a thing. He wasn't going to force Toriumi to open up to him.

-"Were you and Ogata-san good friends?"-

-"Not exactly. I did teach her literature while she was in Hope's Peak. She really knew jackshit about that"- Toriumi smiled, nostalgic

-"Why did you get into the tutoring business?"-

Toriumi didn't answer for a moment, and then started talking with her normal tone. –"Ohmoto, since I was a little girl I knew I was privileged to have such a great mind for academic matters. My parents saw great potential, and filled me with knowledge about everything they could think. I noticed my own potential as well, and studied a myriad of other topics as well.

While I was in school, I not only say potential in myself. I saw it in several of my classmates. It wasn't easy, but I convinced them to study with me. I found out the flaws they had in learning, and taught them everything they needed to overcome them. I didn't merely teach: I formed them into good students"-

The more she talked, the more proud she sounded –"I wanted them to realize that they could achieve great things, just like my parents and myself had realized about me. And I can assure you that I was successful. All of my students are amazing and I'm not humble: most of it was because I taught them to tap into their potentials"-

-"…Wow"- to see that Toriumi was capable of feeling proud of her peers was something he hadn't thought she could do. She always seemed so cold and distant, but maybe it was merely because one didn't know her well.

Or maybe because she didn't see potential in the people she talked to, which was a much less kind explanation.

-"Have you considered teaching any of us something?"- Yukio asked. Toriumi grimaced.

-"We're all already adults. There's nothing I can teach you lot. Your minds are closed to any outside influence, and I don't have the time nor the will to get through your thick skulls"- and with a huff, she opened her book and continued reading.

_Toriumi and I spent time in a glacial silence._

-ooooo-

When Yukio arrived to his room in that night, he wondered if when they all woke up there would be a dead body.

The motive really was dangerous. Just in case, the Assistant pushed his desk until it was against the door. He knew that the only way to enter his room was with the keycard, but he deemed a necessary protection to put a barricade in front of the door. As an afterthought, he pushed his bed so it would be an obstacle for anybody who tried to enter through his bathroom door. It was even less likely, but once again his nervousness got the better of him.

After he felt he was safe enough, he let himself slip into an uneasy dream, filled with Reiji, Monobear as a stereotypical genie, and being underwater.


	26. Chapter 4: We All Wish for a Happy Ending - (Ab)normal Days III

Yukio woke up, groaning. That had been the worst night so far. After he got dressed with different clothes than he usually wore, leaving his suit almost hidden in his closet, he went towards the cafeteria. Much to his surprise, nobody was there. –"Oh? Guys? Where are you?"- the Assistant slowly walked into the bedrooms hall, as if the rest of the graduates were hiding in the shadows ready to scare him. He finally heard an odd sound coming from the distance.

It had come from the entrance to the shelter. All the graduates except Reiji were in front of the big round safe-like door. Most had their ears pressed against the door, and Toriumi and Toyogushi were just looked, with worried expressions

-"What's going on?"-

-"There are very odd sounds at the other side"- Toyogushi replied –"Like construction"-

-"You mean that finally somebody noticed we're locked in this place?"- Yukio asked, pleasantly surprised. Finally, they could get out!

His enthusiasm was quickly crushed by Toriumi. –"We all have defined by now that none of us have somebody out there who cares for us. Leaving that aside, nothing in this place or anything we have done could have tipped our presence to people outside"-

-"It sounds like they have powerful drills"- Curtis stopped listening and walked back –"It sounds really ominous"-

-"But it's people trying to open the shelter door! This is a great development!"- The Assistant insisted. Nobody shared his optimism. Soon Yukio's expression darkened

-"I have a really bad feeling about this"- Chiba whispered, astonished –"This doesn't sound like the type of work of a rescue mission"-

-"How do you even define how a rescue mission sounds?"- Hikasa asked, annoyed.

-"I can't describe it, but these efforts are making me really uneasy. I think it's…the rioters. They're trying to enter the shelter"-

-"You mean that those assholes out there with the bear masks are trying to enter here?"- Toriumi asked, visibly frightened. Chiba nodded grimly

-"It's likely, in my opinion. And if they enter, we may as well consider ourselves dead meat. We need to protect ourselves. Everybody look for a weapon and carry it with you at all times. If the rioters break in, we must be ready to fight back. Allow me to make a contingence plan for that moment; I'll have it ready tonight"-

Chiba saluted everybody and marched to her room. Everybody else slowly separated from the entrance. Yukio didn't want to admit it, but after what everybody said, the sounds really did sound ominous.

He went to his room and grabbed the statue. He held it for a few seconds, but then was forced to set it down. _There's no way I can carry this with me. I'll have to find something else…aha_ The Assistant hurried towards the chapel. He remembered he had seen something perfect to defend himself. He opened the chest and took the silver dagger, and held it in his belt.

He felt better knowing now he had a weapon to keep with him and now felt like eating Chiba's rations.

The cafeteria was different this time. Yamaguchi was the one to be passing the rations around, and Chiba wasn't near. –"Chiba-san isn't here? The noises in the entrance must have really freaked her out"-

-"I don't blame her, I almost fainted when they started"- Curtis said, starting to eat –"She must now be focused on making that plan for when the rioters enter. I must admit it, she's really dedicated"-

While Yamaguchi left to give Chiba her ration, Yukio approached the pantry and tried to open it. –"Don't waste your time, it's locked"- Hikasa said –"I already tried to break it open, but it's really resistant wood"-

The Assistant sighed, defeated, and continued eating. Things really were getting unsettling for him in the shelter. Way too many events were happening in fast succession.

_I need to relax. I really need to_

-ooooo-

Yukio fiddled with the dagger, slashing it around in the air of his bedroom. He wasn't confident he could really defend himself, but at least he trusted he would cause some pain to any attacker. He was in middle of a particularly flashy move when somebody knocked on the door.

When he opened it, he was greeted by Toyogushi. –"Hey there, man. Am I interrupting something?"-

Yukio made sure the dagger was hidden. He felt that saying "oh I was practicing how to stab and slash" could make things really uncomfortable. –"Nothing. What do you need?"-

-"I need help fixing my motorbike and everybody else is busy. Please come"- he signaled his own bedroom.

-"How did you even get your motorcycle into the shelter?"- Yukio asked once he saw the shiny red vehicle, almost disassembled in middle of Toyogushi's room. The Stuntsman shrugged

-"It was there when I woke up. I figured that since we're going to be here for a while, I may as well fix it. Take these and do what I tell you"- he passed Yukio a box of tools, and made him crouch to the side.

While they worked on the motorcycle, Yukio couldn't avoid talking about their lives before Hope's Peak.

-"Did you learn to drive this thing before you entered the school?"-

-"I was the SHSL Stuntsman, not SHSL Motorcycle Stuntsman. This type of stunts came a while after I graduated"- he replied, trying to clean the oil from his bedsheet

-"Then what did you do to get named SHSL Stuntsman?"-

-"Want a flashback? Basically, I had watched an action movie and was really impressed with a few scenes. Such a stupid kid, that young Toyogushi-kun. I climbed onto the roof of my school and started acting as if I were fighting terrorists. The teachers almost fainted when they saw me doing that"- Toyogushi laughed at his fond memories

-"And somebody from Hope's Peak saw that?"-

-"Hopefully not, because that ended with me breaking both of my legs"-

Yukio shut up, not knowing if Toyogushi was joking or not. He was only convinced of the truth in his words when he showed him the scars on his legs. He hauled a part of the motor, and continued.

-"While I was very, very bored in the hospital, I got interested in the making behind those actions scenes. I don't remember much, but I was captivated. Mere weeks after I was healed enough to walk properly, I was again on the roof of a school, but this time I had set a whole mechanism for my safety"-

-"And now somebody from Hope's Peak really did see you"- Yukio interrupted.

-"I don't think so. It all ended well, with lots of admiration from my peers, but it took me a lot of other similar stunts to catch some adult's attention that wasn't a suspension and/or a severe speech about safety.

I received the letter, calling me SHSL Stuntsman. You have no idea how happy I was in that moment"-

-"Awesome, Toyogushi-kun"- Yukio replied, somewhat absent-mindedly. Toyogushi noticed. –"How did Hope's Peak catch onto you?"-

-"Heh…well…"-

_We talked about our pasts while we fixed the motorcycle_

-ooooo-

Yukio got to his room, full of oil and grease. He opened his closet to see that he didn't have anything else to wear except the suit he had discarded just that morning.

It was the exact same suit Reiji was using in that moment and the one Yukio had proudly used until the day before, with the only difference being the ribbon that differenced the twins. It had always amused Yukio how they ended having copies of the same clothes, remnant of the fun times when they used to dress the same.

He didn't like the idea of having to use it again. It reminded him of the betrayal Reiji had done, but there was no other option. He donned the suit again, and took the dirty clothes to the laundry. When he was returning to his room, he went to the infirmary again.

Toriumi was once again there, even more gloomy than the other times. –"Toriumi-san? Are you sure you're okay?"-

She took a while to reply, but when she did, it was clear she was remarkably stressed. –"I was thinking...last night. She won't wake up, right?"-

-"She will, Toriumi-san. You said it yourself, she's full of determination"-

-"But mere determination won't be enough. She needs professional help. We know nothing about how to tend a comatose person. How are we supposed to feed her? We don't have serum or anything. I have no idea what special care she should have. What are we supposed to do?"-

-"The people who are trying to break into here will help us, Toriumi-san. They'll take her to a hospital"-

-"Do you think that there will be any professionals who are still working in these times?"- She took off her glasses, frustrated –"It's the time of despair, Ohmoto! Nobody will be able to help her"-

-"Don't lose hope, Toriumi-san! It'll all be okay. Remember that Ogata-san is fighting for her life, and she'd like us to not to give up"- he tried to comfort her, but all words seemed empty. Soon she went out of the infirmary, furious at the world. She didn't say a word to Yukio.

Yukio sighed, uncomfortable. –"Come on, Ogata-san. Wake up soon. Things here are starting to get hopeless. The more help the better"-

-ooooo-

Akane noticed that the environment of the school in her mind seemed faded and weak. Several areas that the day before were accessible now were replaced by black voids.

When she consulted with herself through the images of Sawashiro, Saitou and Matsukaze, she found that it either meant she was close to waking up, or close to die irremediably.

-"Hopefully it's that she'll wake up"- Saitou stated.

-"Shush. She needs concentration"- Matsukaze said. Akane was once again in the center of the gym, chanting about how she needed to wake up.

-"And after she wakes up, then what will there to be done? She'll be trapped in the shelter, and she won't get out of it by chanting"- Sawashiro mumbled, frowning. Matsukaze closed his eyes

-"She'll find a way to get out of there as well. Even if it means killing somebody, she'll get out"-

Akane couldn't avoid listening to what they were saying. It was nice to know that she had such faith on herself, but she was aghast to see that her subconscious hadn't outright rejected killing as a way out.

-"What could be happening out there in the real world? I have heard bits and pieces, but it's hard to listen when one is in coma"- Sawashiro wondered. Saitou smirked, amused

-"I heard Yukio-kun visiting Ogata-san, several times. Each time he narrates the most recent events"- the Salesman's expression darkened –"But the important parts…they should be ignored until Ogata-san is out of here. If she hears about…the recent deaths, then she may lose determination"-

-"Agreed. Let her focus on awakening first, then she'll deal with the new deaths"-

The lines they spoke were hushed enough for Akane not to listen, although she did feel curiosity. However, waking up was far more important, so she continued.

The Hope's Peak in her mind faded more, and soon started falling apart as if it were made of toy blocks. The black void filled more and more the environment, until only the floor of the gym lasted. Sawashiro, Saitou and Mastsukaze were holding their metaphorical breaths, while Akane concentrated harder.

The floor of the gym continued disintegrating until it finally disappeared from under Akane. She felt herself falling, in what was the strangest sensation she had ever experienced. And without warning, her free fall ended as suddenly as it started, as if she had just landed on a bed.

She groaned without opening her eyes, until she finally gathered enough courage to see if she had woken up in the shelter, or in some kind of otherworldly paradise. She slowly opened her eyes, just to see a figure towering over her.

-"Kudo-kun!"- She threw herself into a hug for him, squeezing him tight. He gasped in surprise, while an odd clinkering sound barely caught the Chemist's attention. For her, it was more important that she finally was seeing somebody besides her dead friends.

-"H-H-How nice to see you awake, Ogata-san"- Kudo stammered, surprised

A pulsating pain flashed in Akane's head. She laid back on the bed again, remembering what had landed her in the coma. Her head was still delicate.

Yukio entered the infirmary -"Kudo-kun, there you are. I'd like to ask you about…about…Akane-chan!"- The Assistant almost threw himself on the recently awakened Chemist. Akane replied with joy too, hugging him as well –"About time! So glad to see you awake again…"-

-"What happened, Yukio-kun?"- She asked, inquiring for the recent developments. Yukio smiled with sincere happiness.

-"Oh, you overslept. Again"- He ducked to dodge the pillow Akane threw. Akane wasn't amused that people still remembered something that happened just once, but she laughed as well. Her laugh stopped when she noticed that, besides Kudo and Yukio, there were three people more in the infirmary.

In the corner, shrouded by the shade, were Sawashiro, Saitou and Matsukaze.

-"Looks like that head trauma will have more lasting effects than you think, my friend"- Matsukaze said gravely.

-ooooo-

Akane spent the next hour getting updated on everything that had happened in the shelter. She cried when Yukio, Kudo and her dead friends notified her of Sakurai's and Ginchiyo's deaths. She gasped when Yukio narrated how they all were almost executed, and she was horrified when she heard that Reiji was the SHSL Despair.

After she processed that Sakurai and Ginchiyo were dead, she saw them entering the infirmary and reuniting with the other dead students. _Ugh, just what my tortured mind needed. More figments of my imagination_

Kudo had convinced Yukio that it would be good to keep Akane's awakening in low profile until she was recovered enough to continue with the life in the shelter. He had arranged with Chiba the turns, so nobody would come for that day, and while the Strategist was ecstatic to see that the formerly comatose graduate was now awake, she accepted to keep it as a secret for now.

-"But why must it be a secret?"- Akane kept asking over and over.

-"Because you were attacked by the Mastermind. If the Mastermind got to hear you're awake, then chances are that he or she would attack you again"- Kudo replied. Chiba chimed to add that she agreed. It was a risk.

-"The ID cards are Monobear's way to spy on us"- Matsukaze said. Akane gasped when she remembered that.

-"The IDs…Monobear can listen to us through them…"- she said faintly. Chiba shrugged

-"It's just Monobear. He's a robot, remember? There's not that much harm if he hear us. I doubt the Mastermind would use Monobear to kill you. It would be a clear message that it was the Mastermind the one who killed you. Now that would be an easy trial"-

The Chemist calmed down. If the Mastermind was going to kill her, then they would do it without relying on Monobear, to obfuscate who did it.

-"When you were attacked, did you see who the Mastermind is, Ogata-san?"- Chiba asked. Kudo and Yukio tensed, ready to listen to Akane's answer.

-"You were attacked by surprise on the back of your head, while you were also struggling not to fall and cry to death. You definitely didn't see anybody"- Ginchiyo said, thoughtful. Akane shook her head.

-"I didn't see the Mastermind's face. I…I just didn't"-

The disappointment was obvious. –"Okay…so, rest here, Ogata-san. You need to rest and recover your strength"-

-"No"- Akane replied, firmly –"I want to return to how things were before I was almost killed"-

Sakurai laughed, amused –"With us with you, things won't be the same!"- This made Saitou to hit Sakurai on the head, to shut him up

-"Are you sure? You're still weak, and sudden movements could cause you pain. Not to mention that, well, you're seeing us"- the dead Salesman said

-"I want to return to my room"-

Kudo looked back and forth from Akane to the empty corner of the infirmary –"Why's she staring so much at that corner?"- He whispered to Yukio, who shrugged.

-"Alright. Kudo-kun, come with me. We'll clear the path so you reach your room without being seen"- Chiba stood up and led the Philanthropist to the door of the infirmary –"Yukio-kun, wait until Kudo-kun comes back and tells you the path is clear. Then you two will take her to her bedroom, understood?"-

Akane and Yukio waited for some minutes, in awkward silence. Finally, Kudo came back –"Done. Get her quick to her room, we don't have that long"-

Yukio nodded, and carefully got Akane to stand up. The girl felt lightheaded and dizzy, but she managed to give some steps by herself. The three slowly walked out of the infirmary, ready to catch Akane if she suddenly lost her balance

-"What time is it?"- Akane asked. Yukio looked at his clock

-"8:20 PM"-

-"Night already? Ugh, I don't want to go sleep. I already slept way too long"-

-"You'll have to sleep if you want to have full energy tomorrow, dear"- Sakurai remarked.

-"But what if she dies while sleeping? Her state is delicate. Maybe she shouldn't have gotten out of the infirmary"-

-"Can you shut up already?"- Akane muttered.

-"We haven't said anything. Are you sure you're okay?"- Kudo asked, worried. The Chemist sighed, and insisted she was fine.

When she got to her room, Kudo left to meet with Chiba. Yukio was about to leave too, when Akane asked him to enter with her.

Akane felt somewhat nostalgic when she entered her room in the shelter. It was still almost exactly like her room in Hope's Peak, and now that image was reinforced by the room she had inhabited in her coma dream. –"What do you need me for, Akane-chan?"-

-"Since when you call me ?"- she smiled –"I want to take a bath"-

-"And…you're not asking me to go in there and give you a sponge bath, aren't you?"- the Assistant replied, looking at her as if she lost her mind.

-"Wha…of course not! I want you to be here. If I don't come out of the bathroom before ten minutes, open the door. Maybe I'll have fainted or something"-

Yukio nodded, saying he understood. Akane gave him her ID card after she opened the door. She stepped into the bathroom, leaving him alone.

Yukio sat on the bed, looking at his watch, when he heard a noise in the room to the side opposite to him. It sounded like something fell in the room. He stood from the bed, and after a while, he decided to check whose room it was.

He opened the door of Akane's room, and peeked to see what the sign on the other room said. His heart almost stopped when he saw it was Reiji's room. He slowly walked to the door, and knocked –"Uh, who is in there? Reiji, is it you?"-

_Of course not, idiot, Reiji is in that bathroom_

He waited, but there was no sound coming now from the room. Yukio paced around nervously. He was sure he had heard something in that room, but the owner of the ID that would let one enter was secured to a toilet three sections away. Could he have liberated himself and walked all the way to his room without anybody seeing him?

He had his doubts, but he was sure he had heard something. _I must check by myself._ With that thought in mind, he got to the fourth section before he found somebody. –"Eh…could you please come with me? I must go check Reiji, and I don't want to go alone…"- he said nervously. The other graduate shrugged and agreed to go with him.

_There's nothing to worry about. He's in there. He hasn't escaped. Everybody is safe. Calm down, damn it!_

When they got to the door of the abandoned bathroom, he instructed his companion to stay there while he entered. Then the Assistant took a deep breath and entered, closing the door behind him, and approached the stall where Reiji would be.

He felt the floor disappearing under his feet when he saw the cut rope, and no sign of Reiji. Then next thing he felt was a quick pain in the back of his head, leading him to lose his consciousness.

-ooooo-

When Akane got out of her bathroom, she grumbled something about how one couldn't rely on Yukio. He had left while she was showering. What if she slipped and cracked her head against the floor?

-"The nerve! You could have died in that bathroom!"- Sawashiro shouted, angry.

-"Calm down. Surely he had something urgent to do. He isn't the type that abandons a friend"- Matsukaze intervened.

-"Besides it would have been uncomfortable if you showed yourself in front of him only with a towel"- Ginchiyo commented. Akane groaned loudly.

-"Seriously, once I find who the Mastermind is, I'm going to kill that person for making me live with five different voices in my head"-

-"Don't worry. I'm sure it's temporal, while your head heals"- the dead Detective said, trying to calm her friend.

-"Temporal or not, this is bothersome"- she quickly got dressed, and walked towards the door of her room.

-"Hey, where do you think you're going? Chiba-san and Kudo-kun got you safe into your room. The Mastermind could be out there, and if that person knows you're alive, then who knows what could happen"- Saitou tried to block the door leading out, but she passed through his image.

-"It's matter of publicly stating that I have no idea who the Mastermind is. If I do that, then that person has no reason to try to kill me"-

-"Because we know that such a person will be satisfied with a flimsy claim like that"- Sakurai smirked.

Akane walked to the cafeteria. –"Is this how this is going to be? Saitou as the one concerned about my safety, Matsukaze as the guy to calm the moods, Sakurai as the snarky voice who should shut up, Sawashiro being all fatalist and swooning over possible deaths, and…"- she looked at Ginchiyo –…and I have no freaking idea what you are"-

-"It's complicated"- Matsukaze replied

-"Whatever. Just try to stay out of my way. I have too many worries to add my fragmented consciousness to the list"-

She entered the cafeteria, finding it empty. She walked to the pantry, wanting to take some food, and was surprised to find it locked. She was about to enter the kitchen when Toriumi entered the cafeteria.

The Private Tutor stood at the entrance with a genuinely scared expression. When Akane noticed her presence, she rushed to her friend –"Toriumi-san! It's great to see you again!"- And hugged her. Toriumi didn't move to return the gesture. When Akane let her go, she was still stunned.

-"You…you're awake…"-

-"Of course I am! I wasn't going to be in coma forever"-

-"…I…I…"-

-"Are you feeling alright, Toriumi-san? Let me make you some tea. You seem like you had seen a ghost"- she entered the kitchen, while Toriumi slowly sat down. It took her some time to recover her usual expression, but if one observed her long enough, one would notice she had a lot of inner turmoil in her mind

Akane took the teapot and walked to the faucet, intending to fill it. When she opened the tap, she frowned –"Hmmmm…odd…there's no water"-. She peeked into the cafeteria and saw Toriumi –"Looks like tea isn't an option. There's something wrong with the water. Is there any way to check that?"-

-"Eeeeh…there is a maintenance room…"-

-"Where? Lead me, please"-

Toriumi took a deep breath and stood up. She led Akane into the fourth section, while the Chemist looked around the way. There were so many places she hadn't seen before. They finally got to the room they wanted to visit. Some of the graduates were already there.

When they noticed Akane was awake and with them, they said words of joy and shook her hand, happy to see her finally awake. After a somewhat emotional reunion, they returned to the matter that had reunited them all there.

-"I don't see anything to control the water here. The power generator is over there, and here is the fuse box, but nothing for the water"- Yamaguchi said, looking around.

-"You didn't look hard enough"- Curtis said, at the other side of the room. He was pressing his ear against what looked like something to control the pool filter –"I hear gurgles in here, as if the filter were turned on"-

-"Could it be that the filter is taking over all the water?"- Akane theorized.

-"Who the hell would be filling the pool? Has it even been cleaned?"- Toriumi muttered, annoyed

-"Whatever happened, we can't leave this on"- Kudo stepped forward and dealt with the pool filter until the gurgling ended. –"There"-

-"Ugh, how much water was wasted?"- Curtis wondered –"We should check if there's a way to recover the water of the pool"- the Artist left the Maintenance Room and walked towards the pool

-"It must be filthy by now"- Yamaguchi pointed –"That pool was slimy and unhygienic. Let it be there"-

-"It's worth trying, but once we find who did it, I'm going to tell Chiba-san to give them a severe speech"-

And with that, he opened the door to the pool. He stepped in, and examined the surface. The pool hadn't filled, not even reached half of the possible amount, but seeing the size of the pool it still was considerable –"Yamaguchi-san was right. This isn't drinkable. I suppose we…we…what the fuck?!"- Curtis froze, looking at something in the bottom of the pool. Akane, Toriumi, Kudo and Yamaguchi ran to the edge of the pool, to see what had caused such reaction. The graduates gasped.

Below the surface of the water, they could see two bodies, seemingly with their hands and feet tied. Without saying a word, Toriumi went away running, and Kudo took off his jacket and jumped into the water. He grabbed the ropes and pulled, but he was unable to lift the bodies. He floated to the surface.

-"There's something weighing them down! Bring me something to cut the…oh, wait!"- He once again went to the bottom of the pool, and grabbing a silver dagger that was in one of the bodies' pocket, he cut some ropes until the bodies started to float.

The other graduates except Akane, who had gone to the wall of the Pool Room, lifted the bodies out, revealing that both of them wore identical suits. They recognized the bodies: the Ohmoto twins. The Philanthropist threw the dagger out, so Curtis could cut all the ropes. –"Is it true? Are there…there are!"- Toriumi had brought Chiba into the Pool Room. The Strategist didn't waste time. She grabbed one of the bodies, and started to do mouth-to-mouth to it, along with CPR. After a minute, the brother who received Chiba's attention sputtered, and vomited water. Chiba sighed in relief, and focused on the other twin, proceeding to follow the same procedure she had done with the first one, while Curtis and Yamaguchi attended the brother who had survived so far.

-"It isn't working! He isn't breathing!"- Chiba cried, before resuming the CPR.

-"Which one is it? Which twin is this one?"- Akane asked softly, while she approached. Curtis, hearing Akane's query, maneuvered around the body until he could see the chest, hoping to see the ribbon that would identify the survivor.

-"He doesn't have a ribbon!"-

-"Then check the other one!"- Akane urged.

Before anybody else could say another thing, Chiba stood up, with grim expression. –"It's useless. He's gone"-

And Akane approached the dead body. This one did have a ribbon. –"No…no nonono"- Akane mumbled –"No!"- The Chemist started crying over the deceased twin's chest, where she had seen a green ribbon.

Yukio Ohmoto was dead.

p


	27. Chapter 4 * We All Wish for a Happy Ending - Abnormal Days

–"A body has been discovered! After a short period of investigation, we'll start the Trial!"-

Akane hadn't ever thought that less than twelve hours after her awakening, she'd hear those words again. While she was crying over Yukio, the rest of the graduates arrived, one by one. They were quickly briefed by Chiba about the situation and about Akane's awakening.

-"Another trial…"- she said weakly, standing up. She had cried enough for Yukio. Now it was time to fight for the innocent's lives again. However, Toyogushi was worried.

-"Are you sure you'll be alright, Ogata-san? You woke up from the coma recently; a trial may be too much for your health…"-

-"Not to mention that chances are that one of your friends did this"- Sakurai coughed.

-"I agree with Toyogushi-kun. You should sit out of the trial, Ogata-san. We'll tell Monobear to do it, and…"-

-"Nope! Won't happen!"- Monobear appeared in the entrance of the Pool Room –"Only somebody grave enough won't assist to a trial. Look at her! She's healthier than most of you!"-

-"It was obvious he wouldn't be that kind"- Chiba mumbled.

-"Whatever! You know why I'm here. Here is my file #4. Use it wisely, bastards"-

Akane rolled her eyes, and checked the new file.

**Monobear File #4**

_Victim's name: Yukio Ohmoto_

_Time of death: 8:35 PM approx._

_Location of body: Pool Room_

_The victim died instantly. There is nothing to note about the body, or any sign of drugs._

-"Look, it doesn't mention the cause of death"- Hikasa pointed, reading the information included in the file.

-"Remember my trial, Ogata-san. The cause of death isn't as obvious as you may think"- Matsukaze whispered to the Chemist's ear. She was about to mention it when Kudo scoffed.

-"This means Yukio-kun didn't drown. Somebody should check the body for any wounds"-

-"But what about the monster over there?"- Curtis pointed at Reiji's unconscious body. Shortly after being revived by Chiba, he had fallen back into unconsciousness –"We should throw him into the pool and let him drown"-

-"As much as we hate it, we'll need to protect him for now"- Chiba said, leaning over Reiji's body –"Hikasa-kun, please come. We'll take him to the infirmary"-

The Weightlifter approached, not happy with having to help the SHSL Despair. –"The rest of you, investigate the body. Find the real cause of death, and any evidence there is in this room and the nearby ones. We can't have a repeat of the last trial"- Chiba ordered, and left the Pool Room with Hikasa.

Toyogushi watched them leave, and sighed. –"Okay, time to work. Yukio-kun was a good man, we all know that. Let's give him our respects by finding the culprit"- and he leaned on the dead body.

Akane looked at him absentmindedly, when she saw somebody going through the entrance. Yukio, or more likely, a hallucination of him. She groaned. _No, not another on._ Before the dead Assistant had a chance to reach her, she ran to a corner of the Pool Room, and once she was sure nobody would hear her, she let her frustration go.

-"All of you, stop it! I don't want to see any of you! One of my best friends was murdered, and I don't have the time or the will to listen to any of you. Just…leave me alone, alone, now!"-

-"But Ogata-san"- Ginchiyo started saying, but she was cut by the Chemist turning her back.

-"Go away, all of you! Leave me investigate alone!"-

They didn't go away, but they didn't say anything either. The fragments of Akane's mind merely standed against the wall, and followed Akane around, far enough to not to bother her. Although she was unhappy they hadn't outright disappeared, at least they weren't bothering her. _I need my mind clear. Let's see…_

She walked around the pool, looking at the water. _It's certainly an odd place to put a body, and way too much of a hassle. Drowning wasn't the cause of death, but…Yukio-kun's brother would have drowned, right? It's possible the culprit brought him here to die, but then, why to tie Yukio-kun to him? To hide the body?_

_No, I think there was another reason to do it…but damn, I can't think what. However, I have a hunch this room is significant in some way._

**Pool Room**

_The Ohmoto twins were found submerged in the pool. What reasons would the culprit have to use this exact place for their scheme?_

Akane meditated about the Pool Room for a while more, but she didn't have an epiphany or similar. Giving up for now, she went towards the rest of the graduates. Chiba had returned, while Hikasa seemingly stayed with Reiji in the infirmary.

-"Did you find anything over there, Ogata-san?"- Kudo asked, jumping around to get rid of the water in his clothes.

-"Nothing unusual. It's all in order"-

-"To me it seemed more like she was throwing a fit, not investigating"- Yamaguchi commented, smiling innocently. Akane blushed slightly, embarrassed to have been seen yelling at her mind.

-"Do you need help with anything, Ogata-san? Maybe a shoulder to cry on or somebody to get you some ice cream for your pain?"- Kudo leaned forward, hoping for a positive answer. Akane glared at him and stated she didn't need anything. Kudo nodded –"Okay. We just finished examinating Yukio-kun's corpse, and we did find a few interesting things here"-

-"Oh? Tell me"- Akane ordered, crouching to a side of Yukio's corpse. Toriumi was on the other side.

-"First than all, I think this was the cause of death"- Toriumi turned the body around, and pointed at the back of Yukio's neck. There was a round wound, with approximately a three millimeters radius –"It's a deep wound, done with some unknown weapon. I'm sure this is what killed him"-

**Yukio's Neck Wound**

_A small hole in the back of Yukio's neck. Thought to be the cause of death. It is around three millimeters wide._

Akane waited for Toriumi to give a lot of clever observations regarding the wound, but she didn't say anything else. Once the Tutor noticed Akane's stare, she fidgeted. –"What is it?"-

-"…Aren't you going to say something more about the wound?"-

Toriumi frowned, annoyed –"This is your third investigation, Ogata-kun. You should be able to get your own deductions by now. Haven't I taught you anything?"-

-"Right"-Akane looked closer at the wound, trying to see if there were any splinters or shards of the murder weapon, but she didn't see anything else other than flesh and blood. She recoiled, disgusted. –"Nothing"-

-"Well, that's too bad"-

-"There are also these ropes, I just untied them. They sure had several knots to keep them together"- Curtis had taken them, having examined every inch of them –"One is the rope used in the third murder, I'm sure of it. The other one is the other rope of the gym. I had taken it to tie Reiji"-

-"Did you see how restrained the brothers were…when you found them?"-

-"Uuuuuh…"- the Artist bit his thumb –"They were underwater, so I couldn't see well. Besides, the water was all grimy and gross. You'll have to ask Kudo-kun"-

Akane looked around to locate the Philanthropist. Noticing it, Curtis pulled slightly from her lab coat. –"He dived again into the pool, to look for evidence. He's really a Philanthropist. Nobody else would do it, so he decided to help us by risking one serious infection. That pool must be full of germs"-

-"Leaving aside Kudo-kun and his lack of thought for his own wellbeing…anything about these ropes?"-

-"Okay, there's something curious here"- Curtis lifted some of the pieces of the cut ropes. –"See here? The cut is clean and straight. This was surely made with the dagger Kudo mentioned having found down there. Remember that he cut the ropes using them, when we got the bodies out"-

-"And what's so curious about it?"- Akane asked impatiently. Curtis took another piece of rope, and showed her the end.

-"See how badly cut and ragged this is?"- Akane lifted her eyebrows, and took the rope. Indeed, it was irregularly cut, as if something serrated and not very sharp had been used there –"It doesn't fit any of the other cuts. Kudo-kun didn't do this"-

_Well this is curious_

-"After the latest trial…where was the rope put?"-

Curtis took off his beanie, ashamed –"I left it here in the pool. I thought nobody would find it here"-

-"Couldn't you have put it in, oh I don't know, the damn trash compactor?!"-

Curtis didn't reply, he just shrugged embarrassed. Frustrated, Akane approached somebody else.

**Ropes**

_The ropes used to tie the brothers together. One was used in the third murder, the other one was use to tie Reiji in the bathroom. The ropes were cut to liberate them, but one of the cuts doesn't fit with the rest, as it's way too irregular and jagged._

-"Hey, has somebody here checked his pockets yet?"- Akane asked Chiba, pointing at the dead body. Akane felt mortified, talking as if Yukio was a complete stranger. Chiba nodded.

-"I just did. Want to see my findings?"- Chiba asked the rhetorical question. Akane nodded, and was presented with three different objects. She focused on two of them: two IDs.

-"Yukio had these with him? Who do they belong to?"-

-"I checked already. One is Yukio's own ID. The other one belongs to Reiji"-

Akane raised her eyebrows. –"Why did he have his brother's ID?"-

-"Beats me, but I don't think it's important to his death"- Chiba shrugged, uninterested.

**IDs**

_Yukio had two IDs with him. His own and his brother's_

-"What else was there to note?"-

-"He also had this key"- Chiba showed Akane a small generic key. The Chemist recognized the model as those she had seen in Monobear's Office. –"I suspect this is the pantry key"-

-"The pantry? Oh"- Akane remembered that she had found it locked –"Yeah, it's locked…why, by the way? Was it some sort of precaution against something?"-

Chiba frowned, and talking with resentment –"No. It just happened without explanation. I never thought Yukio-kun was the one who locked the pantry, and now that he's dead I can't ask his reasons"-

-"Surely it was a joke, Chiba-san"- Akane tried to defuse the situation, but Chiba only frowned more.

-"It wasn't funny. He could have seriously ruined our food. We don't have much left, and his shenanigans were irrational and idiotic. If he weren't dead already, I'd kick him in the nuts for the trouble he caused"-

-"Eeeeh…"- Akane was speechless. She had never seen the Strategist talking like that.

-"Oh, but I could still do that. Stupid Yukio-kun"- she went towards the Assistant's dead body and gave a swift kick to the crotch. Akane winced, and quickly got away. Obviously Chiba needed some time alone.

The Chemist noticed that her mental image of Yukio was pale and wide-eyed. –"Be thankful she can't see you"- Akane muttered, but didn't bother to hear if Yukio was going to reply.

**Key**

_Supposedly the key to the pantry. Yukio had it in his pocket._

Akane decided she had found enough about the dead body. Now she wanted to talk with Kudo. Curtis had told her that the Philanthropist had gone back into the pool itself to look for evidence. Besides, he had been the one to pull the bodies out; maybe he noticed something odd about the way they were tied, or something.

Akane walked to the edge of the pool and peered down. She could see Kudo through the muck. The moment he resurfaced, she called his attention, asking him to get out with any evidence he found. He obeyed a few minutes later, soaking wet. He uncomfortably shook some water off, and got ready to show the evidence.

-"Kudo, how were the brothers tied?"-

-"Uf, whoever tied them did an amazing job. Their hands and feet were tied together, hindering any possibility of swimming. This isn't really the work of some amateur"-

-"One doesn't need to be a professional to hog tie somebody"- Akane replied

-"You don't get it. The culprit knew exactly what he or she was doing"-

 _He gets a point there. One's first instinct isn't to tie together the limbs_ -"Yeah, yeah, let's move on. Physical evidence, is there any?"-

-"Uuuuh…"- Kudo took from the floor an object Akane hadn't noticed until now. She paled when she recognized it. Back in the first days in the shelter, she had talked with Yukio in his room. She remembered seeing that object in a corner.

What Kudo was holding was a statue representing the greek goddess Athena.

-"This was tied to the ropes as well. I think it was so the bodies would sink"-

Akane carefully took the statue. Much to her surprise, it was lighter than she thought it was. She could lift it easily with one hand. -"Something this light wouldn't make the bodies sink"-

-"It's light right now. When I found it, it was filled with water, making it much heavier. I think it would work"- Kudo replied

-"Yeah, that's possible. So this statue is hollow?"-

-"It's perfect for hiding stuff inside it! I should get one of these statues objects for myself"- the Philanthropist laughed.

**Athena Statue**

_A big statue representing the goddess Athena. It's hollow. Presumably filled with water to make the bodies sink into the pool_

-"Say, that reminds me, you mentioned the bodies were tied. How did you get them out? They weren't tied when you lifted them"-

-"I found a silver dagger in Reiji's pocket! It's very worrying. The deranged madman had a weapon. He could have killed somebody"- Kudo expressed his worry, while Akane stood still for a moment. Where did Reiji get such a thing like a dagger? Maybe he had it from before he was tied to the bathroom?

**Silver Dagger**

_A dagger found in Reiji's pocket. Its origin is unknown_

Akane took it and examined it. There were no signs of where it could have come from. Luckily, Chiba noticed the weapon and approached. –"That dagger…is it related to this?"-

-"It seems so. Reiji had it. Do you recognize it?"-

-"Of course! It was in the chapel. Why did Reiji have it? He was supposed to be tied!"-

-"…we have a chapel?"- Akane looked at Kudo, who just shrugged –"Nevermind. Chiba, where's this chapel place? If it was taken from there, then maybe there are other clues around that room"-

Chiba nodded, and gestured Akane to follow her. The women walked to the big doors near the Pool Room. Chiba pushed the chapel doors, letting Akane enter, and excused herself saying she was going to check and possibly interrogate Reiji. Akane flashed thumbs up and focused on her investigation.

**Silver Dagger (Update)**

_A dagger found in Reiji's pocket. It came from the chapel_

The Chemist looked under every pew, inside the chest, and behind every nook and cranny there was in the Chapel. During the time she spent investigating the chapel, her mind fragments took the chance to talk between themselves.

-" I'm not convinced that the reason behind filling the statue with water was merely to sink the bodies"- Sawashiro was saying –"Their weight combined, along with the way they were tied, would make it impossible for them to survive"-

-"What other reason would there be, then?"- Yukio asked, and Ginchiyo quickly said a possible answer.

-"Because the culprit wanted to destroy whatever was in that statue! Maybe Ohmoto-kun knew something about the culprit and he or she wanted to destroy the evidence, just like Miyata-kun did"-

-"Unless it was something that dissolves in water, it's not a likely chance"- Matsukaze intervened.

Akane closed her eyes, annoyed, and did her best to ignore the discussion her mind was having. It was like having a whole group of bees buzzing constantly in her ear. Finally, it was a productive investigation.

In a corner of the Chapel, there was a dolly with a handle. –"What's this…?"-

-"It's a dolly, silly"- Sakurai snickered –"It's for carrying stuff"-

-"Thank you so much, me. I would have never guessed"- the Chemist muttered, examining the dolly. On it there was a clear amount of blood. –"Something bleeding laid in here…must have been Yukio-kun"-

-"There's no reason for blood to be here unless he was put on this dolly. And seeing how this was specifically made to move stuff, then it should mean…"- Saitou let Akane finish the thought.

-"…the body was transported from the place of the murder to the pool"- she did –"I think this narrows down Hikasa-kun and maybe Toyogushi-kun. Neither of them would need a dolly to move a body through such a short distance"-

-"Or maybe the culprit didn't want to stain themselves with blood"- Yukio theorized. Akane frowned, acknowledging the possibility.

**Chapel Dolly**

_A dolly with a handlebar. There is a lot of blood on it, hinting that Yukio was transported to the Pool Room with it._

Akane had also found with the dolly a bunch of plastic bags, covered with blood. –"Eh…it's obvious this is related to the murder"-

-"Plastic bags. They could be found in the storage, I'd say. Anybody could take them without raising suspicions"- Matsukaze said, peering closer at the bags.

-"I can't really think of a way for them to be used in the murder. It isn't like Yukio was choked with them"-

-"I'd say the culprit wore these bags as some sort of gloves and killed Yukio"- the dead Detective proposed.

-"That…that actually has sense. That explains the blood on these"-

**Plastic Bags**

_Bags covered in blood, found in the Chapel. They presumably came from the storage_

-"I don't think there's anything else to see around here"- Yukio said, observing the pews. Akane took a few minutes more to give a quick glance around the chapel, but she had to admit she had already found everything there was to find.

-"So now what?"- she wondered aloud.

-"Now you need to find where exactly I was killed!"- Yukio replied with enthusiasm. Akane was weirded out at how odd that sounded coming from somebody murdered less than an hour ago –"It must be close. The dolly, the timeframe of the murder, the level of the pool, it all hints that the murder must have been near the Pool Room"-

-"Then the real crime scene is somewhere in this fourth section"- Akane examined the floor and the walls, trying to find a clue of where the murder could have happened. It didn't take long before she saw a short trail of blood, coming out from what seemed a bathroom. _Eureka_

-"Ew, ew, ew, the blood is still fresh!"- Sawashiro shuddered at the sight of the blood. Akane replied with a 'oh, shut up' and examined the trail closely. The end of the trail in middle of the hall suddenly stopped, pointing towards the wall. Akane touched the wall, trying to see if there was a secret passage or something similar, but nothing was found.

**Trail of Blood**

_A short trail coming from the abandoned bathroom door to the middle of the hall. It suddenly stops, as if the bleeding corpse or person just disappeared._

Once she was satisfied with the investigation of the trail of blood, the Chemist entered the abandoned bathroom. She didn't have to look around to see evidence. It was right there, in front of one of the stalls.

-"More blood…"- Akane whispered to herself, looking at the blood on the floor. There was a more considerable amount there. –"It's clear this really was the crime scene"-

-"With some luck you should find the crime weapon around here"- Saitou said, watching from the door. Akane nodded, and got ready to do an extensive search around the abandoned bathroom.

**Blood in the Bathroom**

_A puddle of blood in the bathroom, most likely Yukio's blood._

Akane got closer to the blood. Indeed, just like the trail of blood in the hall, this one was fresh as well. From her position, she was able to say an amorphous object in middle of the puddle. She carefully took it, trying to not to stain her fingers with the blood.

-"…This seems to be a red ribbon…"-

-"This must be Reiji's ribbon"- Ginchiyo reminded her –"He was found without it"-

-"Yeah…but why is it here? This points that Reiji was in the scene in the moment of the crime. Could he have seen something?"-

-"Then maybe the reason he was tied and thrown to the pool was because he knew too much"- Sakurai proposed, pensative. Akane shook her head.

-"The culprit already had killed Yukio with some sort of weapon. Why not to do the same with Reiji? I should talk with him"-

-"It's possible Reiji was in a struggle with the culprit, at least it does seem like that. This trial will be over if he saw the culprit!"- Saitou said, triumphant then got sudden doubts –"…or at least I think his SHSL Despair status won't stop him of saying it…hopefully…"-

**Red Ribbon**

_Reiji's ribbon. Found in the puddle of blood of the crime scene in the bathroom_

-"Where was Ohmoto-kun tied, by the way? It must have been very uncomfortable to sleep and eat in a bathroom"- Gincihyo frowned, grossed out.

-"Yukio-kun mentioned a toilet, so it must have been in one of these stalls"- Akane walked to the first stall and opened it. There was nothing odd or remarkable. The next one she opened did have something that didn't seem to belong there. On the floor, behind the toilet, she found big and rough pieces of a tray. _What…?_

-"That was a tray, wasn't it?"- Yukio crouched to check them as well –"When Reiji was trapped here, we had to bring him food. Some of us used a tray. Maybe one of the graduates left the tray and forgot to pick it up"-

-"I doubt the tray was brought here broken. Then why did Reiji shatter a tray?"- Akane asked aloud. There was no response from her mind fragments.

**Tray Shards**

_Shards of one of the cafeteria's plastic shards. Broken and found in the bathroom where Reiji was captive._

Akane stood up and shook her hands, satisfied. –"So this is the crime scene, but there's no sign of the weapon"-

-"Maybe it got flushed down"- Matsukaze suggested, pointing at the toilet. Akane got out of the bathroom in a hurry.

-"I'm not sticking my hand in there. Now if you excuse me, I have to go talk with Reiji. Leave me alone while I do that, thanks"-

Her dead friends once again stood back while she headed towards the infirmary. In the way, she passed through the Maintenance Room. She stopped for a moment to examine the pool filter. Akane carefully twisted the valves until it once again gurgled, showing it was active. She quickly closed it. –"One doesn't need a lot of force to deal with this. Anybody could have done that"-

-"I should point that when the pool filter is on, there's no water at all anywhere else"- Sakurai said –"Remember how you tried to fill a teapot, but no water came out of the tap"- Akane nodded, accepting the suggestion.

**Pool Filter**

_Located in the Maintenance Room. It's easy to turn on and off. When it's on, all the water is directed to the pool, rendering any other place that uses water useless._

The infirmary was wide open when Akane arrived. From the entrance, she could see Reiji laying on the same bed Akane had been on before, unconscious, and Hikasa and Chiba talking. The Chemist knocked on the door nervously. –Am I interrupting something?"-

The two graduates told her it was okay to come in. She went straight to Reiji's bed. –"How is he?"-

-"He hasn't woken up yet. Maybe the shock of being almost drowned knocked him out"- Chiba reported. Akane widened her eyes.

-"He isn't in a coma, is he?!"-

Chiba couldn't avoid laughing –"Of course not! It's night, he's tired, and he went through a traumatic experience. He's merely asleep"-

-"I still think we should have let him drown"- Hikasa grumbled –"If I had known he was the twin who was still alive I'd have forced Kudo to let this bastard die"-

-"I don't like the idea of having him around either…"- Chiba replied –"…but we'll have to endure it"-

-"Is there something about Reiji related to his brother's murder?"- Akane inquired, approaching the unconscious twin. Chiba gestured her to wait a second, and carefully turned Reiji around to show the back of his neck. Akane was surprised to see that there was a big bruise there.

-"Somebody hit him really hard there"- Chiba said –"There doesn't seem to be lasting damage, at least"-

-"Could this have happened in a struggle?"-

-"I doubt it"- Hikasa intervened –"This seems more like the result of a surprise attack. During a struggle I'm sure there wouldn't be a chance to hit the back of the neck"-

_A surprise attack? Well, it's possible…_

**Reiji's Neck Wound**

_A big bruise and swelling, produced when he was impacted by some kind of object._

-"It's curious, though. There are residues of what seems to be blood all over him, but I don't see any wound that could produce that much blood. He seems to be intact"- Chiba leaned back on her chair, thoughtful.

-"Could it be Yukio's blood? They were tied together, after all"- Akane pointed. Both Hikasa and Chiba agreed that maybe that was what made Reiji to be bloodied.

**Traces of Blood**

_Traces of blood on Reiji's clothes. Probably Yukio's blood_

Akane sat down on a bed. –"Any clues about the murder weapon?"-

-"It could be a skewer"- Hikasa shrugged. When questioned if he had seen a skewer around, he denied it –"Alright, I admit I haven't seen anything so thin in the shelter"-

-"Besides the culprit could have destroyed it already"- Akane said, forlorn. Chiba shook her head energetically.

-"Impossible. I have made people watch each other during the investigation to prevent such a thing. The culprit won't be able to get rid of any evidence"-

-"…who's been watching me?"-

Chiba fidgeted at the question. –"Nobody. But that's because I trust you, Ogata-san. You're the second in charge here!"-

-"That doesn't speak well of me, since you paired yourself with me"- Hikasa deadpanned. Chiba giggled nervously –"Besides, if the culprit got rid of evidence before the investigation, then it was all for naught"-

-"Yeah…you got a point there. But I feel this was a 'spur of the moment' murder"-

-"No, it was planned"- Hikasa was going to recite a long spiel about his reasoning, when Akane stood up, ready to stop it.

-"Guys, save the arguing for the trial"-

-"It would be easier if we knew who was the last person to see Yukio-kun alive"- Hikasa said. The Chemist timidly raised a hand. Hikasa urged her to tell it all.

-"Well…I had asked him to be in my room while I showered…"- she ignored the Strategist's odd stare –"…just in case I fainted or something. When I was done, he wasn't in my room anymore"-

-"He was tasteful and didn't wait for you to be done, obviously"- the Weightlifter smirked –"How long before the murder was that?"-

-"I'd say…around ten minutes. I remember Yukio-kun mentioning the time"-

-"This should be important evidence. Let's remember that"- Chiba said

**Ogata's Testimony**

_Akane Ogata was with Yukio up to ten minutes before his death. They both were in her bedroom. Akane asked Yukio to stay while she showered, and at some point, he left the room._

-"Ah, I see. That was just after we cleared the path, then"-

-"Where were you all, by the way? When I got out of my bedroom, looking for Yukio-kun, I saw nobody. Which was odd, normally I'd have encountered one or two of us"- Akane asked. }

-"I led everybody to the library and closed the doors. It seemed like a good place to keep everybody together while you got to your room"-

-"You never told us the strategy you said you wanted to discuss in the library, Chiba-san"- Hikasa said. Chiba laughed, uncomfortable.

-"…yeah, I lied about that…it isn't finished yet"-

-"Did anybody go out while you were there?"- The Chemist continued her interrogation. Chiba thought for a moment, and replied.

-"Well, I tried to stall for some time, but after a while, Hikasa-kun and Yamaguchi-san were the only ones left. The rest left.

-"That means that Toriumi-san, Curtis-kun and Toyogushi-kun left the library a few minutes before the murder…"-

-"She got out, too"- Hikasa pointed at the Strategist.

-"Well, yeah, I had to go make sure the rest didn't find the Chemist"-

**Chiba's Testimony**

_Chiba reunited the living graduates in the library up to fifteen minutes before the murder. Hikasa and Yamaguchi stayed in the library together, while the rest got out progressively_

-"This, and Ogata-san's testimony does support the theory of this being an unplanned murder"- Hikasa said –"Finding the culprit could be harder than we thought"-

-"It's always hard"- Chiba sighed.

At that point, Yamaguchi and Toriumi entered the infirmary. They inquired the SHSL Despair's status, and if he represented a danger. –"I don't think he's in condition of being in the trial"- Yamaguchi commented. Toriumi smiled bitterly

-"Monobear won't let anybody miss the trial, short of a coma. Reiji will be there, causing trouble"-

-"Now that you two are here, I may as well ask if you two have something useful to tell"- Akane said. Toriumi stepped forward first.

-"Uh…I think I could have something"- Toriumi said, strangely unsure –"I saw two people going to the fourth section"-

-"And who were them?"-

-"I could see that one was one of the twins, but I couldn't see well the other one's face"-

-"We all dress differently. Seeing the face isn't everything about identities"- Yamaguchi said harshly.

-"Yes, but I couldn't see well. I was hiding from Chiba, as she was being a liar, saying she wanted to discuss a strategy with all of us, when it was obvious she was pulling everything out of her ass. I didn't want to talk to that airhead"-

-"Gee, thank you so much, Toriumi-san" Chiba said flatly –"So much love from you"-

-"You can't say I'm not honest"- the Tutor looked directly at Chiba's eyes –"I think you're being suspicious"-

-"Yeah, clearing the path for a murder does tend to make one suspicious"- Hikasa added. Chiba gritted her teeth, offended they'd suspect her.

-"Guys, save it for the trial"- Akane said, trying to dispel the tension in the air. Chiba looked at her as if she had thrown a lifesaver at her –"Thank you, Toriumi-san, for the information"-

**Toriumi's Testimony**

_Toriumi saw two people going towards the fourth section. One was one of the twins, but she couldn't see well the second person._

-"Yukio was an innocent person in this shelter"- Toriumi said –"He may have almost doomed us all, but he didn't deserve to die. It's up to us to find his killer"-

-"I don't suspect Chiba-san, to be honest"- Yamaguchi said slowly. All the eyes turned towards her, making her fidget uncomfortably –"I, uh, I mean, I don't know much, because I was in the library with Hikasa"-

-"Did you see something worth telling, Yamaguchi-san?"- Akane asked expectantly. Yamaguchi doubted before replying, so Akane encouraged her: -"Anything could be good, especially if it is about the twins. We need as much information as possible"-

-"Well…while we were in the library, shortly after we all got there, Chiba-san stood in the center and started talking. While she was doing that, I got distracted. I was near the library door, so I opened it, considering sneaking out…and I saw one of the twins going towards the First Section"-

-"The first? Which twin was it?"- Chiba asked. Yamaguchi shrugged

-"I only saw his back, I don't know which one was. But whoever was it; this twin had a hurry to get to wherever he had to go"-

-"At what time was that?"- Akane said, concentrating on Yamaguchi's words. The Fashion Designer thought for a moment, and replied with absolute confidence on her memory.

-"I'm sure it was around five minutes after Chiba gathered us in the library. That would make it ten minutes before the murder, right?"-

_But at that moment Yukio was with me, then…oh_

-"Just to verify…"- Akane felt a chill on her back. She had heard what Reiji was capable of, but she wanted to make sure if her grim thoughts were correct –"Didn't you see anybody else? Are you completely sure of that?"-

Yamaguchi nodded, determined –"I am. The twin was alone"-

**Yamaguchi's Testimony**

_Yamaguchi saw one of the twins run towards the first section up to ten minutes before the murder. This twin was alone._

While Akane was thinking about what Yamaguchi's testimony meant in everything she had thought about, the intercom ringed. –"Bastards, enough chit-chat. Get quick to the trial room, it's time to start this round!"-

Slowly, the graduates in the infirmary except Reiji started going towards the trial room. Before leaving, Akane stopped in the entrance, and speaking to Hikasa, who was the closest graduate, wondered: -"Do you think we should get him to the trial room?"- she pointed at Reiji. Hikasa narrowed his eyes with obvious rancor

-"Hell no. Let him be away"-

Akane nodded, when she noticed something under the bed Reiji was on. She approached, and pulled out an object. Her eyes widened when she realized it was a kitchen knife. Hikasa seemed surprised as well. –"Wow, I hadn't seen that…"-

-"It was, like, hidden down there. Could it have fell from Reiji's pocket?"-

-"I doubt it. But this does give me some interesting ideas…thank you for finding that, Ogata-san. It does help"-

And with those words, the Weightlifter left towards the trial room. Akane examined quickly the kitchen knife, not finding any blood or suspicious elements on it. _But what's this doing here?_

**Kitchen Knife**

_A knife found under Reiji's bed in the infirmary room._

And taking the knife with her, she imprudently ran towards the trial room. The shutter had just been opened; she was the last to arrive. Before she entered, her mind fragments decided to take the chance to say a few words.

-"Do you think you're ready for this, Ogata-san?"- Sawashiro asked, and added with grief –"This could be the last time you enter that place. A mistrial will be your death"-

-"I already was near-death twice. I can survive another close call"- Akane replied, feeling very insecure about her safety.

-"Don't worry. It'll all be fine"- Matsukaze tried to reassure her.

-"Yeah! You'll catch whoever killed me!"- Yukio added, smiling forcedly. Akane looked at him glumly, and entered without replying.

_It's time. Yukio-kun, I'm going to catch the killer. I promise!_


	28. Chapter 4 - We All Wish for a Happy Ending - Trial I

Akane didn't listen to Monobear while he gave his usual spiel about how if they didn't catch the culprit, they'd die. She had already memorized it, much to her chagrin.

-"…A question, may I? Where's Reiji?"- Curtis raised his hand slightly, getting Monobear's attention

-"He's one heavy sleeper. Not even some light prickling with my claws woke him up"- he unsheathed his claws, and Akane could see what seemed like some bloodstains on the tips. She shuddered at the thought of what 'light prickling' was –"Let the bastard sleep, just start the trial!"-

-"Now that he's done, let's start this trial"- Hikasa said, looking confident –"Let's start with a basic fact check, alright? Yukio Ohmoto-kun died from being stabbed, as shown by the wound on his neck"-

-"Then why was he and his brother found in the pool?"- Akane inquired

-"I think it was to kill Reiji as well. It's possible the culprit had no idea who was who. Those two were twins, after all"- Toyogushi replied –"But leaving that aside, what about what was used to stab Yukio-kun? Did anybody find the weapon?"-

Nobody said a word. It was clear that despite all the investigations the graduates had done, the weapon had disappeared. Yamaguchi suggested that the culprit got rid of it in the trash compactor, but Toyogushi countered it, stating he had checked all the trash in there and had seen nothing as thin or bloodied as what was used to kill the Assistant.

-"We don't need the weapon to find the culprit. We already have everything we need, so let's get this on the road. First point of the day, easy question: where was Yukio killed?"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Ropes / Blood in the Bathroom / Toriumi's Testimony / Yamaguchi's Testimony / Yukio's Neck Wound_

* * *

OGATA: What are the chances the murder happened in the pool?

TOYOGUSHI: Practically none!

TOYOGUSHI: _**He was killed somewhere else**_ , no doubt about that

KUDO: Then why were both of them thrown into the pool?

OGATA: To kill Reiji as well, maybe?

HIKASA: It's obvious that's the reason, but what Kudo-kun means…

HIKASA: …is why to use the pool.

HIKASA: **The culprit could have killed him the same way he killed Yukio-kun**

CURTIS: Maybe the culprit _**couldn't use the weapon anymore?**_

KUDO: It could be _**so they had an alibi**_

YAMAGUCHI: … _ **the culprit could have wanted Reiji to suffer…**_

YAMAGUCHI: …drowning is a horrible way to die

OGATA: And last, who could have taken them to the pool?

TOYOGUSHI: It happened while we were all in the Library

TOYOGUSHI: **The options are rather limited!**

TOYOGUSHI: Or should I say, only one?

CHIBA: It couldn't just have been while I was away!

CHIBA: Yukio-kun could have died **before we were all reunited into the library**!

KUDO: Those should be all the basic facts

KUDO: As long as we don't stray from them, we should be able to find the truth

* * *

-"Ogata-san?"- The Chemist heard in her ear. She didn't need to turn around to know it was Saitou –"I see several possible ways to proceed"-

-"I know, I don't need any of you telling me stuff. I can do this by myself"- she grumbled as low as she could, to not to attract attention to herself

-"We do ARE yourself"- Sakurai deadpanned, going away –"Mind pieces, remember? But as you wish"- when Akane was sure she wouldn't be interrupted by the fragments of her mind, she focused back on the discussion.

_I see three possible paths. Let's start with the easiest one_

-"You're right, Toyogushi-kun. Yukio-kun wasn't killed in the pool. In fact, the real place of the death was the abandoned bathroom Reiji was in!"-

-"I never went to that place"- Kudo said, rubbing his arm –"But I suppose there must have been something that tipped you off, right?"-

-"I found a big puddle of blood in the bathroom. It's likely Yukio laid on there for a while, and that's how that much blood got onto the floor"-

-"Reiji being tied to Yukio was another clue to that location!"- Chiba realized –"Reiji was tied in the bathroom, so Yukio had to die near that place. Otherwise, there may not have been enough time to set everything up if the twins were been too separated"-

-"Chiba-san got a point there, the time strain is actually a big problem in this case. There's no doubt Yukio died in that bathroom, then"- Kudo decided

**WAIT A SECOND!**

Yamaguchi had banged her podium –"This narrows a lot our suspect pool to only two people"- she declared with determination. Akane doubted a moment before asking what she meant –"What I mean is that if Yukio-kun was killed in the bathroom, then the culprit had to carry the body and Reiji to the Pool Room, right? Then not anybody here could have done that!"-

-"You say it's a matter of strength, but not everything is done with muscles you know"- Curtis said. Yamaguchi shook her head

-"How does that logic thing go…Occulo's Knife? "The simple solution is often the real one?" The simplest solution is that they both were taken to the pool room by means of strength, like carrying them over the shoulder. And that only leaves two suspects! Hikasa-kun and Toyogushi-kun!"-

-"It'd be very difficult to carry two bodies like you said"- Toyogushi countered, but the Fashion Designer ignored it

-"You found a way. Or Hikasa-kun found a way. What matters is that you two should be the top suspects here"-

Akane sighed –"Alright, Yamaguchi-san, you're mistaken. And by the way, it's Occam's Razor, but the core idea is more or less right. Now tell me what you mean and let me cut it to pieces!"-

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Tray Shards / Reiji's Neck Wound / Red Ribbon / Chapel Dolly / Pool Filter_

* * *

YAMAGUCHI: Strength was a big factor in this murder

YAMAGUCHI: First than all, the culprit subdued Reiji…

YAMAGUCHI: …by hitting him on the back of the neck!

YAMAGUCHI: Then he stabbed Yukio, which could have needed brute force as well

YAMAGUCHI: And last, this culprit carried the brothers, a statue and the ropes…

YAMAGUCHI: …to the pool room, all at the same time.

YAMAGUCHI: A big deal of strength and resistance was essential for this murder

OGATA: If one or more of those events were able to be done…

OGATA: …without strength, would you accept others as suspects?

YAMAGUCHI: Uh, I suppose that if one is possible…

YAMAGUCHI: …then there's enough reason to doubt

YAMAGUCHI: But **unless this was all planned beforehand** …

YAMAGUCHI: …then there's no other possibly way

YAMAGUCHI: But alright, what part is possible according to you?

YAMAGUCHI: **Carrying the bodies?**

YAMAGUCHI: **Stabbing Yukio-kun?**

YAMAGUCHI: **Subduing Reiji?**

YAMAGUCHI: Nothing is possible without a measure of strength!

* * *

-"…As promised, Yamaguchi-san. I'm cutting your claim to pieces"- Akane calmly said –"In the chapel, I found a dolly. It's entirely possible to use it to carry the bodies to the Pool Room, and anybody could have done that"-

-"Just because the possibility was there doesn't mean it actually happened"- Yamaguchi tried to counter, but she was interrupted by Akane before she could continue

-"Oh, but it did happen, because the dolly had a considerable amount of blood on it"-

-"…Say what?"- Yamaguchi recoiled

-"What I said. There was blood on the dolly, and pretty much only one person has bleed in the recent times. And could it have been planted? No, no way. There was no time to do such thing as fabricating evidence. This is undeniable proof that the dolly was used to move at the very least Yukio-kun's body!"-

-"Aaagh…No, my suspects list! It's useless now!"- Yamaguchi muttered to herself, loud enough for the rest to listen.

-"…Thank you, Ogata-san"- Hikasa said, closing his eyes. Akane nodded.

-"But that doesn't clear any of you of suspicion"- Curtis reminded him, then changed topic –"So, this means the culprit knew about the dolly in the chapel, eh? Was it always there?"-

-"When I investigated the chapel after I opened I did see the dolly in the far side of that place"- Toyogushi said, and the rest of the graduates except Akane echoed on his words

-"Uh…I didn't see it when I went to explore the chapel…although maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention…"- Akane said with doubts.

-"It was in the darkest corner of the chapel, no wonder you didn't see it"- Chiba said, deciding Akane's oversight wasn't important. The Chemist sheepishly nodded

-"So it's settled. The culprit moved the body using the dolly, but then wouldn't that mean the culprit was in close contact with the corpse? Seeing the amount of blood in the bathroom and on the dolly, it's to be expected the culprit got stained with blood as well"- Curtis reasoned, adjusting his beanie hat. Yamaguchi gasped.

-"He…he is right! And there was no time to change clothes, either!"-

-"I don't see anybody with blood on them"- Kudo looked carefully at each graduate –"…If they had hurriedly washed their clothes, they'd be still wet, right?"-

-"Hmmmm…mind if I offer a suggestion, people?"- Akane raised her hand, getting everybody's attention –"There's a way to handle the body without getting blood on oneself, more concretely, using these"-

* * *

Monobear File #4

Pool Room

Yukio's Neck Wound

Ropes

IDs

Key

Athena Statue

Silver Dagger

Chapel Dolly

Plastic Bags

Trail of Blood

Blood in the Bathroom

Red Ribbon

Tray Shards

Pool Filter

Reiji's Neck Wound

Traces of Blood

Ogata's Testimony

Chiba's Testimony

Toriumi's Testimony

Yamaguchi's Testimony

Kitchen Knife

* * *

**Plastic Bags**

* * *

-"I found these plastic bags along with the dolly. I'd say that the culprit put them on to avoid getting blood on him or her, and after Yukio-kun and Reiji were thrown into the pool, they took them off hurriedly and left them with the dolly"-

-"…It could work, yeah, although I'm not fully convinced some mere plastic bags would be effective"- Curtis said, skeptic –"But there doesn't seem to be any other option, eh?"-

-"Alright, conclusion: the culprit used the dolly and the plastic bag to get the body in the pool room. Is that really progress?"- Toriumi said dryly

-"If you think it was a useless discussion then go ahead, contribute instead of standing there like a fool!"- Kudo had no patience for Toriumi's jerkass behaviors, but the Tutor was unfazed, although she did decide to reply.

-"Then here's my contribution: let's go back to the beginning, alright? In case we missed anything"-

-"But what use would that be?"- Hikasa asked, furrowing his brow. Toriumi adjusted her glasses

-"Clean your ears, dude. I said 'In case we missed anything'"- she spoke slowly, with obvious contempt.

-"I think it isn't a bad idea, actually. I remember a few topics that surfaced but we never talked about them. This may be our chance to do it"- Akane said, playing with her hair. The graduates resigned to go back to the beginning, sighing and grumbling.

_Since it's time for a different direction, I should have other pieces of evidence in mind. Let's do it!_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Traces of Blood / Pool Room / Yamaguchi's Testimony / Tray Shards / Ogata's Testimony_

* * *

OGATA: What are the chances the murder happened in the pool?

TOYOGUSHI: Practically none!

TOYOGUSHI: _**He was killed somewhere else**_ , no doubt about that

KUDO: Then why were both of them thrown into the pool?

OGATA: To kill Reiji as well, maybe?

HIKASA: It's obvious that's the reason, but what Kudo-kun means…

HIKASA: …is why to use the pool.

HIKASA: **The culprit could have killed him the same way he killed Yukio-kun**

CURTIS: Maybe the culprit _**couldn't use the weapon anymore?**_

KUDO: It could be _**so they had an alibi**_

YAMAGUCHI: … _ **the culprit could have wanted Reiji to suffer…**_

YAMAGUCHI: …drowning is a horrible way to die

OGATA: And last, who could have taken them to the pool?

TOYOGUSHI: It happened while we were all in the Library

TOYOGUSHI: **The options are rather limited!**

TOYOGUSHI: Or should I say, only one?

CHIBA: It couldn't just have been while I was away!

CHIBA: Yukio-kun could have died **before we were all reunited into the library**!

KUDO: Those should be all the basic facts

KUDO: As long as we don't stray from them, we should be able to find the truth

* * *

-"You got that wrong, Chiba-san!"- Akane shouted. The Strategist blinked, startled

-"…I am?"-

-"It's impossible that Yukio-kun died before the path was clear, and you know it. You know very well he was alive at that point! You ordered him to take me to my room, remember? He and I were in my room for a good chunk of time before his death!"-

-"Oh…oh, that's true…"- Chiba said softly -"How could I forget that…"-

-"That was kind of a big detail to forget, Chiba-san"- Curtis said –"Almost as if you were trying to make forget that the only moment he could have died was when you supposedly had gone to look for those who got out of the library"-

-"But if I'm suspected because I don't have an alibi for that moment, then that means you, Toriumi-san and Toyogushi-kun are suspects too! None of you were in the library at that time, either!"-

-"She does have a point there"- Toyogushi conceded –"Is there anything that points specifically to Chiba-san?"-

-"Here's when I show you all the decisive piece of evidence"- Hikasa stood as tall as he could be, and said with confidence –"Ogata-san found a kitchen knife in the infirmary. I don't need to say that's out of place, but what's important here is who could have put it there"-

-"Is that true, Ogata-san? You found a knife in the infirmary?"- Toriumi inquired. Akane confirmed it, and let Hikasa continue.

-"The knife was down there as if it had been dropped and then kicked under the bed to hide it, as if it had been a quick move, almost in panic. But who was in the infirmary? Chiba-san, Reiji-kun and me"-

-"…Reiji couldn't have been the one with the knife. I'm sure none of us would have given him one, and he was tied the whole time, too. That rules him out and leaves you and Chiba-san"- Akane said. The Weightlifter nodded, satisfied

-"Yeah. It wasn't me, though, so the only person who could have left the knife in the infirmary was Chiba-san!"-

-"Just because you say it doesn't mean you couldn't be the one who left the knife"-

-"Uh, excuse me, but how's the knife related to the murder?"- Kudo asked, stopping Hikasa and Akane from continuing their argument. Hikasa looked at him, confused. He started babbling, until he admitted he had no idea. Kudo seemed satisfied –"If it's not related, then who cares who left that. Unless you can prove it was used in any way during the whole murder scheme, then drop that topic and focus back here"-

-"However I do have to agree that Chiba-san is the most suspicious around"- Curtis said –"It all reeks of deceit. What had been your reason for reuniting us all in the library?"-

-"..I actually wanted to keep you all far from Ogata-san"- she replied

-"That seems plausible, in a sense. I suppose that we should do process of elimination, then. Let's start. There are ten people. It's practically impossible for Yukio-kun to have suicided, so make that nine"-

-"Hikasa-kun and Yamaguchi-san were all the time in the Library, they both confirm it. There are seven graduates left"- Toyogushi remembered

-"I don't think Ogata-san could be the culprit, she was freshly awoken from a coma"- Yamaguchi commented.

-"She had brain damage, I think. It wouldn't be strange if she turned into a rabid killed because of that"- Hikasa replied, offending Akane. Did he really call her 'a rabid killer'?

-"No, I saw how Ogata-san and Yukio-kun went towards the first section. Unless they both returned to the fourth section, it's impossible she's the killer"- Kudo notified, and Toriumi also told everybody how she had met Akane in the cafeteria, shortly before the murder was discovered, and how it was pretty much impossible for Akane to go to the fourth section, kill, set everything in the pool and return to the first section in such a short span.

-"Then there are six suspects…no, five. Reiji was tied, there's no way he could have killed Yukio-kun"-Toyogushi yawned, and pulled out some chewing gum from his pocket, determined to keep himself awake.

-"I was hiding in the garden"- Curtis stated

-"I went to the workshop"- Toyogushi informed too

-"I was in the infirmary"- Toriumi said.

-"And there you have it. All of them were in places away of the abandoned bathroom. The only one roaming around was Chiba-san!"- Curtis concluded. The graduates whispered among themselves while Chiba gritted her teeth

-"No, wait a second! None of you has proven you were in any of those places!"-

-"She does have a point there. Without proof, you three may as well be lying"- Akane supported the Strategist. Curtis and Toyogushi were silent for a moment, but Toriumi didn't need to stop to think

-"Where, exactly, did you search for us, Chiba?"-

-"Uuuuh…well, I went towards the Leisure Room first, then wandered around…just searching for those three…stayed mostly around the hall to the fourth section"- Chiba seemed like she had trouble remembering. Akane hoped that it was merely because she was nervous and not because she was lying.

-"Did you ever enter the Maintenance Room or the fourth section?"-

-"…No, I was just I was near until…until Yamaguchi came to examine the pool filter"-

_So Yamaguchi was the first to notice the water was gone…_

-"That's true, she got there just after me"- Yamaguchi confirmed

 _-_ "Did anybody else go, Chiba?"-

-"Hmmm…only Yukio went towards the fourth section. He's the only person that went through the hall to the fourth section, while I was near. I think he didn't see me"-

**Chiba's Testimony 2**

_From the hall to the Leisure Room, Chiba saw Yukio pass through the Maintenance Room without anybody else near. Apparently Yukio didn't see her_

-"Where are you going with this, Toriumi-san?"- Toyogushi asked. The Tutor smirked smugly.

-"It's simple. She says she was there all the time, right? But that contradicts a certain piece of evidence. Isn't that right, Ogata-kun?"-

-"Eh?"- _If you know the answer, why don't you say it instead of making me do it?_ –"Oh, sure"-

* * *

Monobear File #4

Pool Room

Yukio's Neck Wound

Ropes

IDs

Key

Athena Statue

Silver Dagger

Chapel Dolly

Plastic Bags

Trail of Blood

Blood in the Bathroom

Red Ribbon

Tray Shards

Pool Filter

Reiji's Neck Wound

Traces of Blood

Ogata's Testimony

Chiba's Testimony

Toriumi's Testimony

Yamaguchi's Testimony

Kitchen Knife

* * *

**Toriumi's Testimony**

* * *

-"Oh, true! You had said you saw one of the twins and somebody else going towards the fourth section"-

-"Exactly. I did. And it's undeniable that both twins were in the fourth section, otherwise, they wouldn't have been found there!"- The Tutor finished.

-"Th-They could have passed before I got there! I did stay a while in the Leisure Room…"-

-"But that would imply that both of the twins were walking free around. That's impossible. Reiji was tied the whole time!"-

-"What if there's some other path into the fourth section other than the hall through the Maintenance Room, like it happened with the Conference Room and the Garden?"- Chiba proposed, sweating.

-"Not likely. There would be no reason for such thing to exist. The air vent between the Conference Room and the Garden did have a purpose, ventilation; it wasn't a mere plot contrivance. Here it would be a different matter"-

-"I just noticed…none of us mentioned Kudo-kun. Where was he?"- Hikasa asked, looking at the Philanthropist. Kudo grinned, uneasy

-"I went to my room after I notified Ogata-san and Yukio-kun that the path was clear"-

-"So no alibi, then? That would mean there are two suspects instead of one"-

-"No, I do have an alibi. Monobear entered my room and started his usual rounds of harassment. Right Monobear?"-

Monobear jolted in his throne, before nodding with enthusiasm –"Oh, indeed! That did happen"-

-"It was around the time of the murder. That should clear me of any suspicion, don't you think?"-

Hikasa looked at Monobear for a few seconds, clearly pondering if the bear would like to save the culprit.-"…This is all a fair game, isn't it? No favoritism or cheating, right?"-

-"What kind of bear do you think I am? You hurt me :("- Monobear feigned to be deeply hurt, clutching his chest. Hikasa rolled his eyes, and deemed that Monobear was honest, under the reasoning that "otherwise we'd all be doomed from the beginning and it wouldn't be fun for the Mastermind"

-"So that settles it. The only person whose testimony doesn't mesh with the rest, and therefore the only person who could have done this murder is Chiba"- Toriumi declared –"Simply by that contradiction in the testimonies, this level of reasoning is possible for Chihiro Toriumi. What do you think, everyone?"- She finished, doing a mock bow while keeping a stoic expression.

-"If you really do want to know what I think, I think it's a very faulty reasoning. I'm sure you're missing something and it'll be enjoyable to see your smug reasoning fall down in pieces later"- Kudo growled, and then noticing the stares he recovered back into a more cheerful stance –"But who will be the one to do that? I don't think it'll be me!"-

-"If you feel we're missing something then we should fix that. Go back to the beginning, everybody"-

The graduates protested, not seeing the point of doing that. Toriumi continued, unfazed –"If we don't, I'm sure there will be doubts remaining about Chiba's guilt. Let's prevent that, and if you don't agree, I'll push for voting to start now. Your choice"-

-"Aren't you being too pushy, Toriumi-san?"- Chiba said slowly. The Tutor glared at her

-"I don't want a repeat of the last trial. We doubted about the obvious suspect, and that almost led to our deaths. How many times must it be repeated? In nine of ten cases, the obvious suspect is guilty. Occam's Razor, damn it!"-

-"…Okay, for our safety's sake I suppose we can do this again. But let this be the last time, please"- the Weightlifter conceded. The rest of the graduates resigned to redo the initial part of the trial.

_This is the last time we do this, so I better go straight to the last point to discuss. Here we go!_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Pool Room / Athena Statue / IDs / Chapel Dolly / Key_

* * *

OGATA: What are the chances the murder happened in the pool?

TOYOGUSHI: Practically none!

TOYOGUSHI: _**He was killed somewhere else**_ , no doubt about that

KUDO: Then why were both of them thrown into the pool?

OGATA: To kill Reiji as well, maybe?

HIKASA: It's obvious that's the reason, but what Kudo-kun means…

HIKASA: …is why to use the pool.

HIKASA: **The culprit could have killed him the same way he killed Yukio-kun**

CURTIS: Maybe the culprit _**couldn't use the weapon anymore?**_

KUDO: It could be _**so they had an alibi**_

YAMAGUCHI: … _ **the culprit could have wanted Reiji to suffer…**_

YAMAGUCHI: …drowning is a horrible way to die

OGATA: And last, who could have taken them to the pool?

TOYOGUSHI: It happened while we were all in the Library

TOYOGUSHI: **The options are rather limited!**

TOYOGUSHI: Or should I say, only one?

CHIBA: It couldn't just have been while I was away!

CHIBA: Yukio-kun could have died **before we were all reunited into the library**!

KUDO: Those should be all the basic facts

KUDO: As long as we don't stray from them, we should be able to find the truth

* * *

-"That could actually be right!"-

-"'Could'?"- Toyogushi said

-"Uh, it's just a possibility…but what if the reason to use the Pool Room in the first place was to get an alibi? I mean, if you put them on the bottom of the pool and turned on the filter, it'd take a while before the pool filled, right?"- The Chemist tried to string an idea, feeling more confident with each word

-"Wait, that would make hard to know the time of death, too! That would make all alibis useless as well!"- Curtis realized where Akane was going with her reasoning

-"Exactly. The culprit could have easily blended with the rest, if it weren't because the murder was found when the pool hadn't even drowned Reiji. How did you people know about that, by the way? When I got to the Maintenance Room there were several of you there already"-

-"Oh, I realized there was no water. I had to go to the bathroom and…well, what's when I noticed"- Yamaguchi explained. Chiba confirmed that Yamaguchi had been the first one to examine the pool filter.

-"So Yamaguchi could be a suspect too? I thought she had been with Hikasa-kun the whole time"- Akane inquired

-"No, she got to the Maintenance Room after the water was shut down. She couldn't have done it"- Chiba countered

-"Now that you mention it, it's odd you didn't hear a thing when the culprit turned on the pool filter. A thing like that seems like it could take a lot of effort to turn off and on. How couldn't you hear it, Chiba-san?"- Toriumi continued her attack

-"I didn't! There was no sound!"-

Everybody was again starting to turn against Chiba. Akane growled –"No, that doesn't mean she's the culprit! There's something that shows that Chiba couldn't have heard a thing when the pool filter was activated"-

* * *

Monobear File #4

Pool Room

Yukio's Neck Wound

Ropes

IDs

Key

Athena Statue

Silver Dagger

Chapel Dolly

Plastic Bags

Trail of Blood

Blood in the Bathroom

Red Ribbon

Tray Shards

Pool Filter

Reiji's Neck Wound

Traces of Blood

Ogata's Testimony

Chiba's Testimony

Toriumi's Testimony

Yamaguchi's Testimony

Kitchen Knife

* * *

**Pool Filter**

* * *

-"I examined the pool filter, and even turned it off. It's actually pretty smooth. I'd say that if one does it slowly and carefully, there would be no noise at all"-

-"Oh…there goes that, then"- t he Tutor seemed more disappointed than anything else –"So the conclusion is that the reason the twins were found in the Pool Room was so the culprit had an alibi. That seems like something a Strategist would think. After the pool filter was set, she hanged around as some sort of precaution. I think things are clear enough here"-

-"We could go back to the beginning again"- Curtis said quietly. This made Toyogushi kick his podium in frustration.

-"No, not again! Come on, we debated the same stuff three times already, and the result is always the same: Chiba-san is the suspect. It's clear it was she who did this"-

-"I don't think Chiba-san is the culprit. Yamaguchi, support me, please…"- Akane looked at Yamaguchi, begging. The Fashion Designer sighed.

-"…I'm sorry Ogata-san, but it's starting to look like she did it, after all"-

-"Guys, I have never meant or done any harm towards any of you. How can you think I'd kill somebody?"-

-"There's always the possibility that you got fed up of being locked here and you killed Yukio-kun to take advantage of Monobear's wish motive"- Kudo replied. Other graduates echoed on his words in agreement. Chiba shook her head

-"There's no wish in the world that would make me want to harm any of you. Please, believe me!"-

_I'm the only one here who believes she's innocent. There must be a way to break a hole in the logic here…if I can find a chance of somebody else being the culprit then the trial could continue!_

-"Guys, if I demonstrate somebody else could be the culprit, will we give Chiba-san the benefit of not being declared guilty in this moment?"-

-"…Sure? Maybe?"- That was Toriumi's doubtful reply. Akane nodded, and requested everybody to give her a moment to think.

_Let's suppose that all the testimonies are true. If that's the case then…how could both be true at the same time? I think we're missing the most simple explanation here…_

* * *

**Logic Dive**

* * *

1\. Chiba's testimony and Toriumi's testimony are contradicting each other. What is one of the contradictions?

* * *

-Toriumi saw two people; Chiba saw only one

-Toriumi saw Yukio, Chiba didn't

-Toriumi hid in the Infirmary, Chiba was near the Maintenance Room

* * *

**-Toriumi saw two people; Chiba saw only one**

* * *

2\. What's the second contradiction?

* * *

-Both of them saw Reiji

-One saw one of the twins, the other one saw the other

-Both of them saw Yukio

* * *

**-Both of them saw Yukio**

* * *

3\. Supposing both testimonies are true, how could the first contradiction be solved?

* * *

-The people Toriumi saw used an alternative entrance

-The people Toriumi saw arrived before Chiba did

-One of them is mistaken about what she saw

* * *

**-The people Toriumi saw arrived before Chiba did**

* * *

4\. How could the second contradiction be solved?

* * *

-One of the Yukios was somebody in disguise

-One of the Yukios was actually Reiji

-Yukio simply entered and got out, just to enter back again later

* * *

**-One of the Yukios was actually Reiji**

* * *

-"I think I got it!"-

-"Did you manage to unravel the whole thing with the testimonies, Ogata-san?"- Hikasa asked, expectantly

-"Alright, the testimonies are different in two matters: Toriumi-san saw two people going towards the fourth section, while Chiba said she only saw one. And both of them saw a twin, it being Yukio, since Reiji was tied in the bathroom. Understood so far?"-

-"Oh! The second person Toriumi-san saw simply went away between the Infirmary and the Maintenance Room. Of course!"- Chiba interrupted, seeing a possible way out. Toriumi laughed, amused.

-"Do you think I didn't check that possibility already? Here, let me give you something I made"- Toriumi displayed a large piece of paper, with what seemed like a map on it –"I took the time to draw this after Yukio was found. It's a diagram of the third section. Everybody, check this:

As you can see, the Maintenance Room is the hall to the fourth section. Before that, there's a small way towards the Leisure Room, after a short corner. Now follow the only other path available, towards the third section, and what's just after turning the corner? The Infirmary, which is where I was. See how there's no way for a second person to go?"- Toriumi closed the map –"That person didn't vanish into thin air, that's for sure"-

**Third Section Map**

_A map of the third section of the shelter, made by Toriumi. It shows how there are three ways: one, the Maintenance Room and the fourth section. Two, the Leisure Room, after a corner. Three, the third section itself, with the Infirmary being the closest, after another corner_

Akane let Toriumi give her counterattack. She knew the Tutor would feel a harsh blow to her ego, but it was necessary –"You really are an observant person, Toriumi-san, but…I think you missed a more simple explanation"- Toriumi looked as if the Chemist had sprouted a second head

-"Pray tell, what did I miss?"-

-"Haven't you considered the possibility that when you saw those two graduates, Chiba wasn't able to see the hall to the fourth section? Namely because when you… "-

The Tutor put her finger on her lips. Akane stopped, unsure now of her reasoning–"That's where you're wrong. Look, I was the first to exit the Library, yes, but the amount of time between me hiding and me seeing those two graduates was enough for Chiba to get around the Maintenance Room. Oh, and before you ask, now that I think about it, the twin I saw was Yukio."-

Akane gritted her teeth, having been beat. –"Why does this have to be so complicated?!"- she couldn't stop her from shouting.

-"The truth isn't always simple. It's time you realize that. Now was that all? Can we condemn Chiba now?"-

-"No, that was just me pointing a small matter. There's a more important one: There's one graduate whose alibi has been completely broken, turning him into a prime suspect for Yukio-kun's death"-

-"And who's that? You better have something good to back it up"- Toyogushi scolded, skeptic

* * *

Akane Ogata

Chihiro Toriumi

Masashi Sakurai

Aya Sawashiro

Mika Yamaguchi

Reiji Ohmoto

Mishio Matsukaze

Saburou Hikasa

Kaiji Kudo

Ginchiyo

Masaru Miyata

Hoshio Saitou

Takeshi Toyogushi

Yukio Ohmoto

Ian Curtis

Tomoe Chiba

* * *

**Reiji Ohmoto**

* * *

-"The only other suspect of this crime is none other than Reiji Ohmoto!"-

The graduates groaned aloud in surprise and frustration. –"No, not him again!"- Yamaguchi screamed

-"Why did he have to be involved here too?"- Hikasa growled

-"I thought that without him in the trial we'd be free of his influence"- Toyogushi commented -"Now you have really done it, Ogata-san! Reiji was tied, remember? How could he have liberated himself? It's impossible!"-

Akane shook her head. –"It's not impossible. There's even evidence that points that Reijidid manage to get free from those ropes"-

-"But I made sure he was tied well. He couldn't have undone the knots" Curtis protested, defending his work.

-"He didn't have to undo the knots to escape. All he had to do was…"-

* * *

-"…to cut the rope"-

-"…to slip through the rope"-

-"…to convince somebody to untie him"-

-"…to eat the rope"-

* * *

**-"…to cut the rope"-**

* * *

-"…he just had to cut the rope. Once he did that, he'd have free reign to walk around"-

-"This is madness. When I tied him I made sure he didn't have anything that could do that. He didn't have anything when I tied him!"-

-"Oh, but he did have something. When we found him, he even had it with him!"-

* * *

Monobear File #4

Pool Room

Yukio's Neck Wound

Ropes

IDs

Key

Athena Statue

Silver Dagger

Chapel Dolly

Plastic Bags

Trail of Blood

Blood in the Bathroom

Red Ribbon

Tray Shards

Pool Filter

Reiji's Neck Wound

Traces of Blood

Ogata's Testimony

Chiba's Testimony

Toriumi's Testimony

Yamaguchi's Testimony

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Testimony 2

Third Section Map

* * *

**Silver Dagger**

* * *

-"When Kudo found the twins, they were tied in the bottom of the pool. He had to cut the ropes to retrieve them, and he found the object perfect to do that: a silver dagger, curiously found in Reiji's pocket"-

-"A dagger?! You let him have a dagger?!"- Hikasa shouted at Curtis, who waved his hands around swearing that Reiji didn't have anything like a dagger when he was tied. Several graduates were ready to tear him a new one when a voice resounded in the trial room.

-"No, Ogata-san, you're completely mistaken!"-

Chiba hit her podium with both fists, stopping everybody on their tracks. Akane tried to remain confident when she asked what the Strategist meant. –"I can declare that Reiji didn't have that dagger when he was tied"-

* * *

_Now, this is a chapel"- she opened the door, letting Yukio enter. Inside, their steps echoed in the cavernous room. Rows of benches, a dolly, a chest, and a large stone table were the only things in the so-called chapel. –"Nothing too impressive, but it's obvious here some kind of religious ceremonies would have taken place"-_

_Yukio opened the chest. There weren't many things. A few books about different religions, a silver dagger, and what looked like a very gaudy goblet. Satisfied with his examination of the chapel, he accompanied Chiba to another room_

* * *

-"See? It was still in the chapel. I'm positive it was the same dagger. Now do you think any of us would be moronic enough to give him the dagger or untie him? Who in the world would set free the SHSL Despair?"-

Chiba's words threw Akane aback. That wasn't what she had expected. _Then how…how did he liberate himself? If I don't find the way then Chiba will be declared as the culprit!_

-"Y-Yukio-kun maybe did it?"-

-"Yukio came to understand the danger his brother was. Not even he would do it"- Hikasa countered

_Then how? How did Reiji get that dagger while being tied? I'm sure he cut those ropes, but without the dagger how could he do it?_

…

… _maybe it wasn't really with the dagger. Maybe there was some other instrument he could use for that end…_

… _and it would be found in that bathroom, wouldn't it? Otherwise Kudo-kun would have found it…_

-"Excuse me, if you allow me a suggestion?"-

Yukio's mental image had approached Akane. She closed her eyes tightly, but Yukio didn't stop talking –"Reiji was tied with those ropes and he managed to cut them. Wouldn't that have left marks on the rope?"-

-"That's right, but there was nothing out of the ordinary on those…"—Akane stopped mumbling when she remembered.

* * *

_-"Okay, there's something curious here"- Curtis lifted some of the pieces of the cut ropes. –"See here? The cut is clean and straight. This was surely made with the dagger Kudo mentioned having found down there. Remember that he cut the ropes using it, when we got the bodies out"-_

_-"And what's so curious about it?"- Akane asked impatiently. Curtis took another piece of rope, and showed her the end._

_-"See how badly cut and ragged this is?"- Akane lifted her eyebrows, and took the rope. Indeed, it was irregularly cut, as if something serrated and not very sharp had been used there –"It doesn't fit any of the other cuts. Kudo-kun didn't do this"-_

* * *

The epiphany happened quickly.

-"…I see! I know how Reiji cut the rope!"-

-"Goodie, more ramblings"- Toriumi said aloud enough for Akane to hear it

-"No, look, it's very clear. Curtis-kun, you said that one of the cuts on the rope was strange, right? It couldn't have been done with the dagger. Some other object would have needed to do it"-

-"Yes, but what object?"-

–"That's the cut Reiji made to liberate himself! And I know exactly what was used!"-

* * *

Monobear File #4

Pool Room

Yukio's Neck Wound

Ropes

IDs

Key

Athena Statue

Silver Dagger

Chapel Dolly

Plastic Bags

Trail of Blood

Blood in the Bathroom

Red Ribbon

Tray Shards

Pool Filter

Reiji's Neck Wound

Traces of Blood

Ogata's Testimony

Chiba's Testimony

Toriumi's Testimony

Yamaguchi's Testimony

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Testimony 2

Third Section Map

* * *

**Tray Shards**

* * *

-"During my investigation I found shards of one of the cafeteria trays. What if, at some point, Reiji managed to get his hands on one of those trays? If he broke it and used one or more of the pieces to cut through the rope, then he'd be free"-

Chiba gasped, horrified, having remembered that she had been the one to leave the tray with the food. Akane ignored that and continued –"That's when he went to the chapel and got the dagger. It's possible he had the intent to kill, again. And the unlucky person selected to be killed was his own brother, Yukio-kun!"-

-"That wouldn't be surprising. A SHSL Despair would have no regard for his brother"- Hikasa commented -"Then what did he use to stab Yukio-kun? When we found him he had no weapon that could do it"-

Akane tried her best to keep her confidence. _Oh, crap_ –"That doesn't matter. What I had to do was to demonstrate that somebody else could have done it. The trial shall continue, now that a suspect other than Chiba-san has been presented!"-

**NOT SO FAST**

Akane dropped her smug smirk and faced Kudo. The Philanthropist had been the one to make the objection. –"It's a nice theory and all, Ogata-san, but that's all it is. A theory"-

-"But I demonstrated that he could have escaped!"- She countered. Kudo nodded.

-"Exactly. You demonstrated he _could_ have done it. What you haven't demonstrated is that he actually _did_ escape. Until you do, we can't mark him as a suspect"-

_Oh crap, here we go_

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Kitchen Knife / Pool Filter / Yamaguchi's Testimony / Reiji's Neck Wound / Ropes_

* * *

KUDO: I do accept the possibility of Reiji escaping

KUDO: But that's all it is

KUDO: A possibility!

KUDO: Unless he actually escaped from those ropes

KUDO: Then we can't consider him a viable suspect

OGATA: But Toriumi-san or Chiba-san saw him!

KUDO: For all we know both of them are Yukio-kun

KUDO: Don't you understand? We can't go for a 'maybe'!

KUDO: **Toriumi-san saw Yukio**

KUDO: **Chiba-san saw Yukio**

KUDO: And **those are all the options** there are!

* * *

-"No, those aren't the only options!"- Akane shouted. Kudo sighed.

-"I suppose that means you're sticking to the whole 'one of them was Reiji' thing…"-

-"That isn't the only thing I'm sticking too. There's one graduate here that saw Reiji, with no way for confusion. It was after they were reunited in the Library. Yamaguchi-san saw him walking towards the first section"-

Kudo raised his eyebrows, beckoning Akane to say who it was. The Chemist turned towards Yamaguchi, who caught the cue –"Uh, Ogata-san, I couldn't see the twin's face…it could have been Yukio…"-

-"It's impossible it was Yukio, my dear friend. If it were Yukio, then there would be a clear contradiction with this evidence!"-

* * *

Monobear File #4

Pool Room

Yukio's Neck Wound

Ropes

IDs

Key

Athena Statue

Silver Dagger

Chapel Dolly

Plastic Bags

Trail of Blood

Blood in the Bathroom

Red Ribbon

Tray Shards

Pool Filter

Reiji's Neck Wound

Traces of Blood

Ogata's Testimony

Chiba's Testimony

Toriumi's Testimony

Yamaguchi's Testimony

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Testimony 2

Third Section Map

* * *

**Ogata's Testimony**

* * *

-"Chiba reunited everybody in the library shortly after I woke up. After you all were in that place, Yukio-kun and I walked to my room, and he was with me all that time, until he left. It's pretty much impossible that he was the twin Yamaguchi-san saw"-

-"But then that would mean…"- Toriumi stammered. Akane nodded.

-"Yep. Reiji was free and able to go anywhere. That could solve the second contradiction between Toriumi-san and Chiba-san's testimonies. One of you two saw Reiji instead of Yukio!"-

-"No wait! I'm sure that the one I saw was Yukio!"- Toriumi protested. Chiba wasn't left behind in that regard.

-"But I did see the ribbon the twin I saw had. It was green. It was Yukio-kun"-

Akane thought for a moment, and then talked to the Tutor. –"Toriumi-san, you weren't able to distinguish the person that was with the twin. I think there's enough room for you being mistaken about who you saw"-

Toriumi opened her mouth a few times, looking for a way to counter. She finally said, with a lot of frustration: -"How could that be?! I don't get this sort of things wrong!"-

The Chemist didn't pay attention to her, instead focusing on giving closure to her line of reasoning. –"That shows it. I think I have given enough proof: Reiji Ohmoto is a viable suspect for the murder of his brother!"-

Kudo started clapping with enthusiasm, but his voice when he talked was far from enthusiast. –"Nice, Ogata-san, but remember how we found Reiji? He was tied to his brother's corpse and thrown into the pool. Are you saying he did that to himself?"-

-"Who cares?"- Chiba intervened before Akane could reply, eliciting some wary expressions

-"What do you mean with 'who cares?'? We're talking about somebody who tried to kill Reiji! Any of us could be next!"-

-"That's completely true. However, you said it: " _tried_ ". Meaning there was no success. This trial is only for Yukio-kun's murder. We're not obligated to deduce anything about they being thrown into the pool"-

Akane felt a pang of pain. Why was Chiba doing that? Could it be that she was who threw Yukio-kun's body and Reiji to the pool? _No, no way she would_

-"Damn it, why things have to be so complicated? But Chiba-san is right. This trial is only for the murder, and I'm convinced that Reiji is the culprit"-

-"Thank you very much, Ogata-san, I knew I could count with you. I did the right choice naming you second in charge in this place"- Chiba said with gratitude.

-"If we're focusing only in the murder, then here's my opinion: I do feel more comfortable blaming the SHSL Despair madman than blaming Chiba-san. I…I don't think she's guilty"-

Slowly, a few other graduates started echoing on his words. Akane felt greatly satisfied. It was all going as she expected! The trial was a positive note.

At least until the doors to the trial room opened, and one person entered.

Reiji Ojmoto, still without a ribbon, walked directly towards his podium. He looked at the big picture of his brother' crossed with a huge X.

-"…So that's the murder…my brother was murdered…"-

-"Possibly by your hands"- Curtis said. Reiji widened his eyes, and stammered.

-"M-Me? No, I don't think so…why would I do that?"-

-"Because you're a heartless bastard with the brain filled with despair shit?"- Chiba said, seething hate. Reiji widened even more his eyes, until he finally closed it in realization.

-"Say, will any of you tell me the contents of the Monobear File? I'm afraid I don't have my ID so I can't check"-

Those words made Akane feel somewhat uneasy, but she obliged, telling everything Monobear's file informed. Reiji nodded, satisfied. –"I see. I do see. Guys? I know absolutely nothing about the trial or what has been discussed so far, but I suppose that whatever you have talked may be based on false information"-

-"What false information, then? Because I doubt you'd know much since you were absent of the whole thing"- Chiba said caustically.

-"Yeah, I don't know much, but I do know something, 100% sure: Yukio Ohmoto is alive, and standing right here. I'm Yukio Ohmoto"-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh! Starting to get somewhat confusing. It's real hard to make a web of words that can be unraveled with simple statements at some later point.
> 
> I promise I'll clear any confusion or loose ends to the best of my ability in the next chapters


	29. Chapter 4: We All Wish For a Happy Ending - Trial II

Yukio's statement was received with as much skeptic stares as expected. The victim was claiming to be alive! And to make it worse, the person had a chance of being a ruthless and despaired monster.

It's no wonder the only response was a flat "What" from Monobear.

Yukio looked around with interest. –"Did I get too late? Who's getting accused?"-

-"…Yukio-kun? How can we know it's really you?"- Yamaguchi said what everybody was thinking.

-"Uuuuh…I don't know, to be honest, but does that really matter? I mean, I have pretty much a suspect I'd like to share, if you all don't mind. I won't outright claim for now that this person is the culprit without first listening to what you all got so far"- Everybody tensed after those words. It was logical. If that really was Yukio then chances were that he saw everything happen.

-"No, no, wait a second here. We're not going to pay any attention to you or your claims, Reiji"-

-"Guys, don't you think that outright shutting our ears may be counterproductive?"- Akane said. Soon Chiba agreed with her, managing to convince everybody else to give Yukio a chance to at least talk.

-"But only with one condition: before we pay any attention to your accusations, you have to prove that you really are Yukio-un. Let's start with what you remember about the murder, alright? If you're really Yukio-kun, you should remember everything"- Curtis said. Yukio nodded, understanding

-"So basically what you want is a testimony. Alright, if that's what you want, then brace yourselves, people, here comes my testimony!"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Key / Reiji's Neck Wound / Red Ribbon / Pool Filter / Chapel Dolly_

* * *

YUKIO: **I spent most of my time with Ogata-san**

YUKIO: As she may tell you, I took her to her bedroom

YUKIO: While I was with her, **_I heard a noise in my brother's room_**

YUKIO: I doubted if I should check what happened, so several minutes passed

YUKIO: When I finally decided to go, I got no answer from that bedroom

YUKIO: Knowing there was **only one person** who could enter there…

YUKIO: …I went to check Reiji

YUKIO: **_I didn't see the murder_** , for obvious reasons

KUDO: I thought you had said you knew the culprit

YUKIO: Maybe I do but…

YUKIO: …I can't say I saw them killing Reiji

* * *

_Okay, do I really believe that the person talking here is Yukio-kun? I do want to believe he's alive and the SHSL Despair is dead, but is that…possible?_

_I suppose I could proceed thinking it's true until something points the opposite. Shouldn't hurt, right?_

**Yukio's Testimony**

_Yukio heard a noise coming from Reiji's room and went to investigate. He was bludgeoned when he saw Reiji was gone from the bathroom_

-"Yeah, it's impossible you could see the murder. You were knocked out, after all"-

-"Eh? What do you mean, Ogata-san?"- Toyogushi inquired. Yukio turned around and lowered the neck of his suit as much as he could, showing a very large bruise.

-"This wound here should say everything. I was knocked out before the murder happened"-

-"And what was your last memory before being unconscious?"- Kudo asked. Yukio closed his eyes for a moment, visibly frightened.

-"…I saw nothing. I mean…I went to the abandoned bathroom, to check Reiji…and I saw nothing. He wasn't there"-

-"Well yeah, we already discussed that he pretty much had managed to escape"-

-"What I don't understand is why the culprit knocked me out and didn't kill me like they killed Reiji. After all I was taken by surprise. Why to hit me instead of outright stabbing me?"-

-"That's actually a good point"- Toyogushi commented, closing his eyes –"There was no need to knock him out if the culprit was able to get behind him without him noticing"-

_He's right…why would the culprit do that? It doesn't make any sense, unless…_

-"Are we sure that the culprit was the one who knocked out Yukio-kun?- Chiba said what Akane was thinking.

-"Are we sure this is Yukio-kun?"- Kudo whispered to Chiba, who merely shrugged.

-"Guys, I'm Yukio. Why do you doubt my identity?"-

-"Well, for one you didn't have your ID. Both IDs were found in the dead twin's pocket"-

-"The dead twin also had that green ribbon…only Yukio uses it, as far as I know"- Hikasa added.

-"That's true, I know the twin I saw earlier before the murder was Yukio-kun because I saw a green something in his chest"-

Akane had to admit that the sight of the green ribbon was what had made her suppose that the dead body belonged to Yukio.

-"So my whole identity was reduced to a ribbon. I'm not sure how to feel about that"- Yukio deadpanned

-"Look, our point is that we don't have a way to verify your identity"- Curtis concluded. The supposed Assistant sighed, and turned to Toyogushi.

-"Toyogushi-kun, less than twelve hours ago we were in your room, repairing your motorcycle. We talked about our feats that led us to enter Hope's Peak, and you told me about how your stunts ended breaking your legs"-

-"That's indeed true…"- Toyogushi said.

-"Kudo-kun, you notified to Akane-chan and me, while we were in the infirmary, that the path was clear"-

-"Yeah"-

-"Chiba-san, while you were showing me around the fourth section you confessed to me a certain love matter that I won't repeat without your authorization"-

-"Oh…Oh!"- Chiba blushed

-"And Akane-chan, I think you know that I'm the only one in the whole shelter that would call you like that. Please, look at me and realize I'm your friend"-

Akane spent a few seconds looking at Yukio. He gave her the impression that he was irradiating honesty and a sincere will to find his brother's murderer, despite what said brother had done to him. She also noticed that the mind fragment that represented Yukio was now gone. Her subconscious had accepted the living twin as Yukio–"…I trust him. He's Yukio-kun"-

Slowly, some of the other graduates agreed that the person they had there was the former victim. Only Curtis and Hikasa refused to believe that was the Assistant, but they didn't press further. Instead, they chose to accept the possibility and work based on it.

_There's a lot of evidence to update. I should remember these changes_

* * *

**Yukio (Reiji)'s Neck Wound**

_A small hole in the back of Reiji's neck. Thought to be the cause of death. It is around three millimeters wide._

**IDs**

_Reiji had two IDs with him. His own and his brother's_

**Key**

_Supposedly the key to the pantry. Reiji had it in his pocket._

**Silver Dagger**

_A dagger found in Yukio's pocket. It came from the chapel_

**Chapel Dolly**

_A dolly with a handlebar. There is a lot of blood on it, hinting that Reiji was transported to the Pool Room with it._

**Blood in the Bathroom**

_A puddle of blood in the bathroom, most likely Reiji's blood._

**Reiji (Yukio)'s Neck Wound**

_A big bruise and swelling, produced when he was impacted by some kind of object._

**Traces of Blood**

_Traces of blood on Yukio's clothes. Probably Reiji's blood_

**Yamaguchi's Testimony**

_Yamaguchi saw Reiji run towards the first section up to ten minutes before the murder._

**Kitchen Knife**

_A knife found under Yukio's bed in the infirmary room._

* * *

-"Don't you guys think that then this brings a very worrying possibility? Reiji was able to walk around for a long time"- Curtis said.

-"But Yamaguchi-san said that she had seen Reiji only after they had been reunited in the Library"- Toriumi pointed –"That should mean that Reiji got free around that time, so the twin they talked to can't have been him"-

-"Sorry to reveal this, people, but I have something that shows that Reiji could have freed himself much earlier than you think"- the Artist replied. He took from his pocket a key. –"Remember this? This must be the key to the pantry; the one we all know has been locked for at least a day. And this key was found in the dead body's pocket. This means that it was Reiji who took the key and locked the pantry"-

-"Monobear, why the hell did you let Reiji take a key from your office?!"- Toyogushi lashed out at the bear, who chuckled.

-"I thought it'd be a good development"-

-"But then…why did Reiji lock the pantry? What was he planning?"- Hikasa was clearly scared of what a SHSL Despair could do.

-"Beats me. I don't think it was to make us all starve, because he put all the food out of the pantry before locking it. But I suggest we approach that pantry very carefully. Nothing good could come from that bastard"- Curtis passed Chiba the key –"I think it'd be better if you keep this. You're the leader"-

-"Now let's continue with the trial. I repeat: why would the culprit knock Yukio-kun out instead of killing him?"-

_I have the feeling that this is a very significant point. I better think this through._

_Why would the culprit knock out Yukio?_

* * *

-The culprit intended to frame him for Reiji's murder

-The culprit tried to murder Yukio via blunt force trauma

-The culprit wasn't the one to knock out Yukio

-Yukio was an obstacle for the murder

-The culprit thought Yukio was Reiji

* * *

**-The culprit thought Yukio was Reiji**

-"What if the culprit thought it was Reiji?"- Akane proposed –"It's possible the culprit's plan all along was to kill Reiji, so when they saw a twin, they attacked without second thought!"-

-"No, that can't be it. If the culprit through he was Reiji, why would they knock him out instead of outright stabbing him?"-

-"Oh…yeah, funny thing, eh?"- Akane smiled sheepishly.

_Damn it, this is not helping!_

_I better think this through._

_Why would the culprit knock out Yukio?_

**-The culprit wasn't the one to knock out Yukio**

-"I…I got it. I see now!"-

-"Got a good idea, Ogata-san?"- Chiba asked, hoping it was the correct answer to their problem.

-"I think that we have based this in another wrong assumption, like we did earlier. We supposed that the culprit had knocked out Yukio. What if that's wrong? What if somebody else was the one to do it?"-

-"But who, then? If it wasn't the culprit, then who else would do that?"-

-"Look at the problem this way: the graduate who knocked out Yukio had to be in the fourth section before Yukio-kun got there. Remember that only saw Yukio-kun enter, so this person must have been in the fourth section from the beginning. And if it isn't the culprit, then it only leaves one possibility. The person who knocked out Yukio is…"-

* * *

Akane Ogata

Chihiro Toriumi

Masashi Sakurai

Aya Sawashiro

Mika Yamaguchi

Reiji Ohmoto

Mishio Matsukaze

Saburou Hikasa

Kaiji Kudo

Ginchiyo

Masaru Miyata

Hoshio Saitou

Takeshi Toyogushi

Yukio Ohmoto

Ian Curtis

Tomoe Chiba

* * *

**Reiji Ohmoto**

* * *

-"…Reiji. If the culprit wasn't the one who did this, then the only option left is that it was the only other person that was in that area at the time"-

-"No, not him again! Why when something bad happens it has to be him the one who did it?"- Yukio complained.

-"Sorry, but it's the truth. It was him"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Ogata's Testimony / Key / Athena Statue / Pool Room / Monobear File #4_

* * *

YAMAGUCHI: But why would Reiji do that?

TORIUMI: We can't understand the monstrosities Reiji had in mind

CHIBA: I'm more concerned as to what he could have used

YUKIO: He used **_something he retrieved from his room_** …possibly

YUKIO: I had heard strange noises coming from his room

YUKIO: **Only Reiji** could have entered there

HIKASA: Maybe **_he used his own fist_** to hit Yukio-kun

CHIBA: He doesn't have your strength, Hikasa-san

CURTIS: What about **_something that was already in the bathroom_**?

CHIBA: Yeah, it's unlikely it'll be something we found in the pool

CHIBA: **Reiji was already dead** so he can't have taken it there

CHIBA: I think the key here is **something only Reiji could use**

_There's only one object I have seen that could have been used to do it…but it isn't directly related to Reiji yet. I'll throw the idea in and see how it fares_

-"Yukio-kun, is that goddess statue familiar to you?"-

-"Athena? Yes, I have one in my bedroom"- Yukio replied.

-"Hmmmmm…do you think it could be possible Reiji owned one too?"-

The Assistant thought for a moment. –"It's possible, but I have no idea. Are you insinuating it could have been what was used to bludgeon me? If it's like mine, then it's way too heavy to even be lifted"-

-"Curious, it wasn't heavy at all. I managed to lift it after I got all the water out of it"- Curtis commented. Kudo confirmed as well that it wasn't heavy at all.

-"It's a hollow shell. The twins are really weak if they can't lift it. Don't worry, Yukio-kun, I'll give you a special strength training routine when we're done here"-

-"Hollow shell? My Athena statue isn't hollow. I know that very well"-

Akane decided to continue. –"If it wasn't heavy, then Reiji could very well have used it to attack Yukio-kun. Besides, has anybody ever seen that anywhere in the shelter? It isn't something that blends easily with the environment"-

None of the graduates notified having seen the statue before. The Chemist straightened her lab coat before saying the last part of her theory. –"Okay, I say that this statue came straight from Reiji's room. And the reason it was found in the abandoned bathroom when Yukio went to check Reiji was because Reiji himself brought it there!"-

-"But when did he do that? I was the one who brought him the food mere one hour and half before his death, and I saw no statue"- Toriumi said.

-"It must have been when he went to his room, moments before the murder. It can't have been at any other moment"-

-"The statue possibly contained something Reiji wanted to retrieve or hide. If he made all that noise then he perhaps entered in panic and dashed back to the abandoned bathroom with the statue…maybe to crack any head that got in his path"- Yukio completed Akane's reasoning.

-"But there are still a few blanks…I can't avoid feeling there was something else behind Reiji's actions…"- Hikasa said

-"Yeah, if he wanted to kill Yukio-kun he would have done it, right? I think his objective wasn't to kill Yukio-kun when he knocked him out"- Chiba theorized.

-"It was when Yukio-kun saw that Reiji wasn't there, so it was already late to hide that he was free"- Toyogushi pointed.

_That's correct. I do feel the same thing…that there was something more Reiji planned there. But what, exactly?_

_What did he have in mind?_

* * *

**Logic Dive**

* * *

1\. Reiji's intention when he knocked Yukio out was to…

* * *

-Kill him

-Make him unconscious

-Frame him for a crime

* * *

**-Make him unconscious**

* * *

2\. What was out of place in Reiji's body when he was found?

* * *

\- He was bloodied

\- He had a dagger in his pocket

\- He was wearing Yukio's ribbon

* * *

**\- He was wearing Yukio's ribbon**

* * *

3\. What was Reiji doing the moment he was stabbed?

* * *

-He was tying Yukio up

-He was stealing Yukio's dagger

-He was stealing Yukio's ID

* * *

**-He was stealing Yukio's ID**

* * *

4\. What was Reiji's intention, taking into account all the aforementioned facts?

* * *

-He was going to trade places with his brother

-He was going to kill his brother

-He was going to prank his brother

* * *

**-He was going to trade places with his brother**

* * *

-"…"-

Akane stared blankly at Yukio, feeling a small sense of dread and doubt towards her friend. The Assistant was discussing with Hikasa if the murder had been planned or not. _What if…this isn't Yukio? No, that's ridiculous. There's no way_ Feeling a bit stronger now that she noticed her mental image of Yukio was still gone, she raised her voice.

-"Uh, am I interrupting? I think I figured out Reiji's intentions"-

-"And what would them be?"- Toriumi asked, leaning on her podium.

-"I assert that Reiji was going to swap places with Yukio-kun, leaving him tied to the toilet while the SHSL Despair pretended to be the his brother"-

Akane's affirmation caused an uproar no other theory had caused in the trial so far. Apparently each time Reiji's plans or possible actions were mentioned everybody had to act as if they hadn't expected it from him.

-"But why would he do that?!"- Curtis shrieked

-"To have free reign among us, of course! Nobody would have believed Yukio-kun if he had been tied and claimed to not to be Reiji"- Chiba pointed

-"Yeah, I'd have chalked it to a plan to escape from that bathroom"- Toriumi adjusted her glasses.

-"But we can't fall for they swapping places, can we? We would notice!"- Toyogushi argued. Akane shrugged.

-"It's possible we wouldn't have, if Reiji had used this object correctly"-

* * *

Monobear File #4

Pool Room

Yukio's Neck Wound

Ropes

IDs

Key

Athena Statue

Silver Dagger

Chapel Dolly

Plastic Bags

Trail of Blood

Blood in the Bathroom

Red Ribbon

Tray Shards

Pool Filter

Reiji's Neck Wound

Traces of Blood

Ogata's Testimony

Chiba's Testimony

Toriumi's Testimony

Yamaguchi's Testimony

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Testimony 2

Third Section Map

Yukio's Testimony

* * *

**Red Ribbon**

* * *

-"If you remember when we found Reiji's dead body, we saw that he had that green ribbon. That's how we supposed it was Yukio-kun. So what would we think if we saw Yukio with the red ribbon on his neck?"-

-"We'd all think he was Reiji. Damn, his whole identity really was reduced to a ribbon"- Chiba said without thinking. Yukio grimaced, definitely not happy.

-"That'd be unfair and moronic from us. Yukio and Reiji are completely different personalities. I'm sure that we'd have realized sooner or later. Yukio is kind, a pleasant person to have around, and a good friend. Reiji wouldn't be like him not even in a thousand years"- Yamaguchi argued, approaching to Yukio and hugging him. The Assistant hadn't expected such action from anybody, much less in middle of the trial. However he was deeply touched by Yamaguchi's clear trust and high opinion of him.

-"So Reiji was planning to pretend to be Yukio, and that's why he knocked out his brother. So that means the culprit was the one to kill Reiji. It can't be argued anymore that the drowning attempt at the pool is unrelated to this crime, too"- Toriumi said.

-"Yeah, I doubt two different people were involved there. It's most likely one person's actions"- Hikasa agreed –"And I'd like to remind you all that Chiba-san is not clear from suspicion yet"-

-"Not again!"- Chiba protested.

-"Yes, yes again. You're the only suspect there is, and you haven't been cleared of suspicion yet. The only reason we stopped pointing at you was because Akane proposed that Reiji had killed Yukio, which clearly didn't happen"- Toriumi crossed her arms sternly.

_Damn it! Reiji was my only suspicion. Besides Chiba-san, Yukio-kun was the only other person who went into the fourth section, but I refuse to think he killed his brother…and it's impossible, either way. Is this really it? Chiba-san is guilty?_

-"Uh, mind if I ask something? Why do you all suspect Chiba-san? I arrived late and all that"- Yukio asked.

-"Basically her actions and words contradict other people's testimonies"- Akane explained. She made sure to mention every piece of evidence that had been discussed so far, and which ones hadn't been touched yet. She made special emphasis on the testimonies, and showed him the map Toriumi had made of the third section to illustrate where some graduates were hiding while Chiba was searching for them.

Yukio nodded from time to time, analyzing all the words Akane said. A few of them seemed to make sense to him, as he would mutter "Thought so" or "Of course".

-"And that's what they say about this. I personally don't think Chiba-san is the culprit, but I just can't think about other suspects. Nobody else went into the fourth section"-

-"Yeah, I see why. It's no surprise"-

-"This is all very complicated. It's so hard to make all the pieces fit. No matter how I see it, I can't solve this murder…"- the Chemist lamented. Yukio thought for a few seconds before declaring:

-"I solved it. I know who killed Reiji"-

The graduates all paid attention. –"Then say it! Hurry up!"- Chiba urged, hoping to hear her name cleared.

The Assistant didn't say the name straight away. Instead, he decided to beat around the bush first. –"Akane-chan, the reason you can't make all the pieces fit is because there are too many pieces right now. And the ones that don't belong are _fabricated"-_

-"Fabricated?"- Akane asked back, confused. Yukio nodded.

-"This matter isn't as complicated as you're all making it seem. It's actually pretty simple"-

-"Then why can't we see the truth? You're insinuating that Chiba isn't guilty, so there's something we missed"- Toriumi said, sweating. Yukio glared at her.

-"I'm not insinuating anything. But the reason why the truth hasn't been seen is because you all gave too much value to her words. Specially you, Akane-chan. You solved the first two murders, but the culprits and the testimonies given came from people you weren't attached to. But now that our numbers are smaller it was unavoidable you'd have to mistrust a friend"-

-"So…my mistake is that I have taken something as face value?"- Akane said softly.

-"Yes. Your trust for your friends has obfuscated your judgment. That's…what happened to me in the last trial. My love for my brother didn't let me see his guilt"- he said grimly.

-"…So…Chiba-san is guilty?"- The Chemist felt weak. The Strategist, the person that had showed great trust towards her, was the murderer?

Yukio shook his head, leaving Akane with contradicting emotions. If Chiba wasn't the culprit, then who was it?

-"No, she's innocent. What really happened is that I met the culprit in the fourth section. She has lied to all of you about _everything_ she has said.

Chihiro Toriumi killed my brother"-


	30. Chapter 4 - We All Wish For a Happy Ending - Trial III

-"…what?...What?"- Akane said over and over, as if she were whispering to herself. Her mentor and the only person she knew before entering the shelter was the culprit, according to Yukio.

And she had trusted all her words.

-"That's a filthy lie! I didn't kill Reiji!"- Toriumi shouted.

-"It's not a lie. Admit it, Toriumi-san, you weren't hiding in the infirmary like you said. You and I know very well that we encountered each other in the fourth section!"- Yukio said, pointing at her.

-"No, definitely not. I hid in the infirmary. Now I accuse you, Yukio, of being Reiji's murderer"-

-"Responding to an accusation by accusing the accuser? That doesn't give a good image of you, Toriumi-san"- Yukio commented.

-"Oh, it isn't a mere accusation. I do have proof that could…can support my claims"-

-"She says she has proof"- Toyogushi shrugged.

-"Then let's hear it"- Yamaguchi had pounced on the possibility of Chiba not being the culprit –"Go ahead, Toriumi-san. Show your evidence"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Blood in the Bathroom / Pool Room / Plastic Bags / Reiji (Yukio)'s Neck Wound / Chapel Dolly_

* * *

TORIUMI: As you can all remember, Yukio was drenched in blood

TORIUMI: He got stained **when he murdered Reiji**

TORIUMI: Afterwards, what he did was to use the plastic bags…

TORIUMI: …to **put the body on the dolly**

TORIUMI: He took it to the pool and put the body on the bottom

TORIUMI: **And that's when he was knocked out**

TORIUMI: Somebody else tied him to Reiji, but I assert…

TORIUMI: …that Yukio is the culprit here!

* * *

-"Gotcha!"- Yukio yelled –"There's a hole in your reasoning, Toriumi-san. You claim that the only time I could have been stained by Reiji's blood was when I supposedly murdered him. But there are other two moments when I could have been stained"-

-"It must have been before you two got thrown into the pool, that's for sure"- Yamaguchi mused.

-"I was bludgeoned in the bathroom, and fell to the floor. Then Reiji got ready to swap places with me, and that's when he was murdered. He fell to the floor and laid there for a good while, as shown by the amount of blood in the bathroom"-

-"The culprit had to go for the dolly and the bags, that was enough time for Reiji to bleed so much"- Kudo said.

-"And since we both were lying on the floor, it's completely possible that some blood seeped into my suit while I was unconscious. That would explain the bloodstains on my clothes. And that wasn't the only moment where I could have been in contact with Reiji's blood"-

-"When you both were taken to the Pool Room, right?"- Curtis supposed. Yukio smiled at the Artist's correct guess.

-"Exactly! It's to be expected that both Reiji's body and my unconscious form were carried with the dolly to the Pool Room. At that moment my suit could have been stained too. As you can see, Toriumi-san, there are other ways I can have been stained, and they all involve me being innocent"-

Toriumi growled, but counterattacked -"Not so fast, Yukio. The bags! They came from the storage, and there's no way I could have gone and returned. I'd have been seen by Chiba, and I sure as hell don't go around with plastic bags in my pocket"-

_…_ _The bags. I forgot about them. How did Toriumi get the bags, then?_

_I didn't bring any bags, and it's impossible that Toriumi could get them. It isn't as if she knew she'd murder somebody. I'm convinced this was from the spur of the moment._

_Then Reiji must have brought the bags with him, but what for? I don't get it_

-"Reiji had the bags with him, there's no other solution. Neither Toriumi-san or me could have brought them"- Yukio declared.

-"And I suppose you have evidence to back up your words"- Toriumi pressed. Yukio begrudgingly conceded that he had nothing to strengthen his argument. The Tutor smiled, triumphant –"I didn't bring the bags. I'm betting that it was you. You brought the bags with you because you had planned beforehand to kill Reiji. You brought them so your hands wouldn't be stained with blood"-

_I can't let her turn this against me_

-"Excuse me, Yukio-kun, but I'm wondering something: why did she kill Reiji and throw you into the pool with his corpse?"- Yamaguchi asked, hoping the Assistant had an answer.

-"I think that he killed Reiji out of shock. If I had to guess, she saw him bludgeoning me or something, and killed him. Then she threw me into the pool because…um…"-

* * *

-"…she wanted to get rid of witnesses"-

-"…she didn't know who Reiji was and who I was"-

-"…she panicked"-

* * *

**-"…she wanted to get rid of witnesses"-**

* * *

-"…she tried to drown me because I could get her punished for killing Reiji"-

-"What?! That's very cold-blooded!"- Toyogushi exclaimed, looking at the Tutor with disgust.

-"If I had awaken and heard that Reiji had died, my first thought would have been that Toriumi-san was the culprit. She couldn't take that risk, so she tied me to my brother, took us to the pool, filled the statue with water and let us sink"-

-"And she used the pool because that way we wouldn't be able to determine a precise time of death and all alibis would be broken!"- Ogata finished. Yukio nodded, supposing Ogata had thought that in the spot.

-"But Monobear's file could have told us the exact time of death"- Curtis pointed, but Kudo managed to counter him.

-"Monobear and the Mastermind aren't perfect. Note how even he supposed the one who had died was Yukio"-

-"What was up with that, by the way? I thought robots were infallible"- Toyogushi said.

-"Not my fault. It did seem like that guy had been the victim"- Monobear replied grouchily, clearly bothered with having made such a big mistake. Chiba furrowed her brow, as if the bear's words had sparked some kind of process in her mind.

-"Leaving Monobear's blunders aside, I'm not convinced about Toriumi doing something like killing out of panic"- Kudo said

-"I think it all depends of the weapon used. If she had been carrying the crime weapon waiting for the chance to kill then there must have been some motive behind it"- Hikasa commented

-"And where would she hide that weapon, by the way? None of us found it"- Chiba remarked.

_If Toriumi didn't kill Reiji because she panicked then why? She doesn't strike me like the type that would kill Reiji because she saw he attacked me. We're not even friends; she wouldn't do that for me…_

_…_

_…_ _we're not friends, so she wouldn't do it for me. But she did have a friend in trouble…or at least she thought she was still in trouble_

-"…I think that the crime was unplanned"- Yukio said –"But when she saw the chance to kill somebody, she did it because she had a good motive, in her eyes"-

-"The only motive I could say she had was the wish"- Ogata replied –"But what kind of wish could she have that she'd resort to killing to obtain it?"-

-"I don't have any wishes. All I want is to get out of here, and if I were willing to kill to do that I'd have done it before"- Toriumi gave emphasis to her words, glaring at everybody from over her glasses.

-"That's true; if she were willing to kill to get out of the shelter she'd have done it as the first murderer. I do agree with Ogata-san that the wish is most likely related to the murder"- Chiba supported.

In that moment Ogata's eyes widened in horror, as if she had realized something terrible. She stuttered, trying to say something, and closed her eyes tightly. _What's up with her?_

-"Leave me alone…no…I can't believe that…please, leave me alone…"-

_Nobody has said a word to her. What's wrong?_

-"Akane-chan, is there something bothering you?"-

The Chemist opened her eyes. The Assistant shuddered when he saw the despair that had gathered so fast in them. –"Toriumi-san…she wouldn't kill for…she wouldn't…"- she was shuddering, as if a lot of people were around her shouting something.

Suddenly, as if a snowball had hit him square on the face, he realized Toriumi's wish. Why she had killed, and why Ogata was so horrified.

-"Akane-chan, listen. I know it hurts, and that you may feel very guilty, but you need to face the truth. You won't get better until you do"-

-"It's my entire fault. It's my entire fault, it's my entire fault…I…I should be punished. If I…please, don't kill her…"-

_It's no use. She's in shock._

The rest of the graduates, Toriumi included, were staring at Ogata with great worry. They had never seen her in such state. Kudo left his podium and started to walk towards the Chemist, but Yukio stopped him. –"No, I'll do it. I must do it"-

_I must get her out of the shock. Who knows what she may attempt if she despairs. I have to do it now_

And with those thoughts, Yukio stood in front of Akane's podium and grabbed her shoulders.

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle - Akane Ogata**

* * *

OGATA: I should have fought more!

OGATA: Toriumi-san, forgive me!

OGATA: She…She…

OGATA: Why didn't I do it sooner?

OGATA: It's my entire fault

OGATA: I should die in her place

OGATA: Leave me alone!

OGATA: Stop shouting at me!

OGATA: I know it's true

OGATA: I'm the one to blame!

* * *

**Toriumi's motive to kill was…**

* * *

_Get Comatose Ogata Out of the Shelter_

* * *

-"Akane-chan, I know that she killed because she wanted to get you out of here…to seek help for your coma…"-

-"I should have fought more. If I had awoken a few hours earlier, she wouldn't have…"- Ogata sobbed, covering her face in her hands.

-"There's nothing you could have done. It was all bad timing"-

-"Don't you see?! She'll die now! She'll be killed because I was too weak to wake up!"-

-"Akane, control yourself!"- Toriumi shouted, walking to the podium and slapping her. Ogata looked at the Tutor with pain –"It's not your fault that you didn't wake up earlier. It was mere bad luck. Stop blaming yourself!"-

-"…Is…Is that a confession?"- Hikasa asked, unsure of how to say it delicately without possibly hurting Ogata more. Toriumi turned around.

-"I'm not confessing anything. I'm trying to calm down my friend"-

-"Listen, Akane-chan, it's a sad fact, and I know that you are blaming yourself, but you can't fall in despair. You're stronger than this, fight the despair!"-

-"…They're shouting at me. They yell that Toriumi-san is the culprit…I know Toriumi-san is the culprit…"-

-"Don't listen to them"- Yukio said, unsure of whom were 'they' –"What matters is what you know, and you do know that Toriumi-san is the culprit. And since you know it, you can give the first step forward. You can continue, Akane-chan. We all believe you'll get over this"-

Ogata trembled for a bit more before raising her eyes. Despair didn't fill them anymore. They were empty, but her voice was resolute. –"I'll need to condemn my friend…despite what she did. I know she did it for me, but…I can't let the rest of you die while she and I get saved"-

-"Akane, are you going to vote for my execution?"- Toriumi said darkly. Ogata nodded.

-"Sorry Toriumi-san. You're my friend and all, but you did a big mistake. I can't let it slid"-

Yukio smiled, happy to see that Ogata was going to do the right thing despite Toriumi being the culprit. The Tutor wasn't happy, though. Everybody soon returned to their podiums.

Nobody said a thing for a minute, until Hikasa broke the silence. –"So…Toriumi-san killed to get help for Ogata-san when she was in coma…makes sense to me"-

-"Her attitude here does point to her guilt. Her words did imply it"- Curtis commented.

-"I haven't confessed anything. I insist: Yukio is the culprit"- Toriumi said, clenching her teeth.

-"It's true. Despite everything, her testimonies still stand"- Ogata said –"As long as her testimonies are intact; she can't be pointed as the culprit"-

_So all I have to do is to break her testimony. If I can do that, then everybody will accept that she's the culprit._

-"Toriumi-san, I already heard from the others what your testimony is, but would you mind telling me yourself?"- Yukio asked. Toriumi sighed tiredly.

-"If I have to…"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Red Ribbon / Plastic Bags / Reiji (Yukio)'s Neck Wound / Athena Statue / Yukio's Testimony_

* * *

TORIUMI: I was **the first to get out of the Library**

TORIUMI: I did that because Chiba was being a pain in the ass

CHIBA: I already said why I had done it!

TORIUMI: As soon as I got out **I ran to the infirmary**

YUKIO: Did you see anything strange there?

TORIUMI: There was **nothing odd or worth noticing** in there  
TORIUMI: While I was hiding from Chiba…

TORIUMI: I saw **one of the twins and somebody else** passing

KUDO: Who were they, exactly?

TORIUMI: I couldn't see the faces or the clothes clearly…

TORIUMI: But I'm sure **one of them was one of the twins**

TORIUMI: I waited for a while before getting out

TORIUMI: I got out of the infirmary and got to the cafeteria…

TORIUMI: … **where I found Akane.**

TORIUMI: Shortly after that we went to the Maintenance Room

TORIUMI: And found the murder in the Pool.

YUKIO: Is that all you have to say?

TORIUMI: That's my testimony

YUKIO: There must be **something that doesn't fit** …

* * *

-"Toriumi-san, your testimony is odd, knowing how you behave"-

-"What do you mean, Yukio-kun?"- Kudo asked.

-"I mean that something doesn't fit here. Toriumi-san, you did in the infirmary, right?"- Toriumi nodded. Satisfied with her answer, he continued. –"And you saw nothing worth noting, right?"-

The Tutor nodded again –"Right. So you thought nothing about the fact that your comatose friend, the one you were very worried about mere hours before the murder, had vanished from the infirmary?"-

Toriumi, for the first time in the trial, looked like she was at loss of words. –"O-O-Oh…well, I had heard she had recovered…"-

-"That's a fucking lie"- Curtis spat –"We had been gathered in the Library as soon as Ogata-san woke up. There's no way you could have known that she had awoken"-

Toriumi grunted, furious. She couldn't believe she had left such a hole in her testimony. The worst thing was that she had no possible counter. She couldn't think of an excuse.

-"I had always thought it was suspicious she hadn't been able to see the person that was with the twin"- Yamaguchi commented –"Despite being so observant she hadn't seen a crucial detail. Even the clothes would have been enough to know who it was"-

-"I…I already said that I was hiding. I couldn't see because I was hiding"- the Tutor panted, trying to contain her fury. She took a few deep breaths until she calmed down. –"I continue to stand by my testimony"-

-"So that's why you reacted like that when you saw me, Toriumi-san"- Ogata said with sadness –"You had killed to get me out of the shelter to search for somebody to get me out of the coma…and you find out it was for naught"-

Toriumi didn't reply. She hit her podium over and over, taking out all her frustration on the podium.

_I think this is as far as we'll go._

-"It's time to throw away the pieces of the puzzle we don't need and observe the full picture" Yukio declared, getting ready to narrate how the murder happened.

* * *

**Climax Inference**

* * *

_The whole murder and set up happened in twenty minutes, more or less. And all of it was planned on the spot by a very agile mind._

_It all started when Ogata awoke from the coma. Seeing the risk of everybody knowing about that, Chiba reunited everybody in the Library, except Reiji, Kudo, Ogata and Yukio. The first one was supposedly tied in the bathroom, the second one went to his bedroom and stayed there, and the last two went to Ogata's bedroom._

_Shortly after Ogata and Yukio got to the girl's bedroom, a certain person decided to spring into action. Reiji, who had freed himself from the ropes by cutting them, went to the first section to enter his bedroom. In the way he was seen by Yamaguchi, who was peeking into the hallway while she considered escaping the Library._

_Ten minutes before the murder._

_While Ogata was taking a bath, Reiji accidentally made a bit too much noise in his bedroom, catching Yukio's attention. Knowing that he was in possible peril, Reiji grabbed his Athena statue, with the intention to bludgeon anybody who crossed his path, and ran to the abandoned bathroom. After a few minutes doubting what to do, Yukio decided to check Reiji._

_Meanwhile, after Reiji returned to the bathroom, the culprit got fed up with Chiba's reunion. The culprit went to the fourth section with the intention to be away of the Library. Shortly after that, Chiba left the library to seek for the person who'd be the culprit. While Chiba was searching for the culprit, she stayed in the area near the Maintenance Room. That's when Yukio passed through the path to the fourth section._

_Five minutes before the murder_

_Yukio encountered the culprit and asked her help to check Reiji. Both of them knew that checking him alone would be a bad decision. The culprit and Yukio got to the bathroom, and Yukio entered first while the culprit stayed outside for a moment. That's when Reiji bludgeoned Yukio, and proceeded to steal his ribbon and ID, with the intent to make everybody believe he was Yukio._

_In middle of these actions, the culprit entered the bathroom. Seeing Reiji over Yukio, the culprit sprang into action and stabbed Reiji on the neck, killing him._

_Seeing how Reiji was dead, the culprit knew she had to take measures to ensure she wouldn't get caught. With that in mind, she quickly hatched a devious plan._

_She got a dolly from the chapel, and after taking it to the abandoned bathroom, she used the plastic bags Reiji had and took Yukio and Reiji's bodies, the ropes and the statue and took them to the Pool Room. After tying together the twins and the statue, she made sure the statue was open and threw all of them into the bottom of the empty pool._

_Afterwards, she returned to the Maintenance Room and sneakily turned on the pool filter, without Chiba noticing. She intended to let Yukio drown, so nobody could link her to the murder of Reiji._

_However her plans were ruined by other graduates noticing the water was gone, so they reunited in the Maintenance Room to check the filter. Taking advantage of the confusion, she sneaked among the graduates, returning to the first section, where she'd feign innocence._

_Only one of us has such a quick and malicious mind to create such a scheme out of thin air._

_And it's you, Chihiro Toriumi!_

When Yukio finished his retelling of the murder, Toriumi seemed like she was going to spit fire. However, after glaring at Yukio with as much hatred as she could, she started laughing hoarsely.

-"…I think she snapped"- Kudo whispered to Hikasa

-"Oh, she did, long ago. She had to be crazy to try to blame Yukio-kun for the murder"- the Weightlifter replied.

-"Why are you laughing, Toriumi-san?"- Ogata asked, trying to keep her voice firm.

Toriumi reduced her laughter into chuckles. –"Ggrh…keh…it's just…it's funny…how can you blame me for the murder when there isn't even a murder weapon I could have used?"-

Yukio frowned. _Damn it, she had to mention the murder weapon_

The Tutor continued –"You say that it was a spur-of-the-moment murder, so I can't have been carrying a weapon around. It had to be something that was in the bathroom in that very moment"-

-"…She's right about that. And nobody found the murder weapon, either"- Ogata confirmed –"And there is nothing in the shelter that could have done such a wound, either. Something so thin yet hard enough to pierce the skin…I haven't seen anything"-

-"Maybe some part of the statue was used"- Hikasa suggested.

-"No, I checked the statue and there isn't any part of it thin enough to cause such a wound"- Yamaguchi said. Toriumi laughed some more.

-"There you have it! And guess what, Yukio? You say you saw me in the fourth section before the murder. Did I have anything like a weapon with me?"-

-"…No, you didn't…"- Yukio admitted, gritting his teeth.

-"And there you have it. As long as there's no weapon, you can't claim that I'm the culprit!"-

-"To be honest I'd vote for Toriumi-san even if the weapon isn't deduced"- Chiba said –"I think there has been enough discussion about her guilt, and Yukio-kun is a pretty reliable witness"-. Much to her surprise, some other graduates agreed. There was a majority already planning to vote for Toriumi-san, no matter the outcome of the murder weapon.

_But there must be something I have missed. A weapon she could have used…but there was nothing in the bathroom that fits! Neither in the chapel or in any nearby rooms…just where did she get it from?_

While Yukio thought as hard as he could, his eyes stared absentmindedly at Toriumi's head. He saw an object that he had seen a lot of times before but never had paid attention to it. The Assistant's eyes widened when he realized that he had finally found the weapon.

-"Okay Toriumi-san. If you want me to say what weapon you used, then I will. Let's end this trial!"-

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle (Chihiro Toriumi)**

* * *

TORIUMI: Stop bluffing!

TORIUMI: There's no weapon

TORIUMI: No weapon means no murder

TORIUMI: It's over!

TORIUMI: Did you see any weapon, eh?

TORIUMI: Gone! Gone! Gone!

TORIUMI: Dumbass, begone!

TORIUMI: Lies, it's all lies

TORIUMI: How can it have happened?

TORIUMI: You don't have any answer!

* * *

**The weapon of the crime...**

* * *

_Toriumi's Chopstick Hair Decorations_

* * *

-"As it has been mentioned, this murder was completely unplanned"- Yukio started narrating –"Meaning that Toriumi-san had no time to prepare a weapon. However that doesn't mean she didn't have one. Improvising can be useful, you know"-

-"And what did she use as a weapon, then?"- Toyogushi asked, impatient. The Assistant smiled widely, satisfied.

-"She simply reached into her hair and used one of those chopsticks!"-

Toriumi's eye twitched visibly. –"O-Oh please…you can't be serious…"-

Kudo decided to take action. Before Toriumi could do anything, he approached running and with a quick hand motion he took the three chopsticks, letting Toriumi's short hair fall. He returned to his podium before the Tutor could get the chopsticks back. The Philanthropist took a quick look at the three, and raised one that was noticeably bent and chipped.

-"I'll suppose this one was used to stab"- then he examined it closer –"I do see some residues that look a lot like blood. This wasn't cleaned well"-

Toriumi growled in a way that could be considered more animal than human. –"Toriumi-san, how could you…"- Curtis said, taking off his beanie hat.

-"I don't admit anything"- the Tutor snarled –"Accuse me all you want but I'm not going to accept it"-

-"We don't need you to accept it. We just need to vote and it'll all be settled. Monobear, mind if we start?"-

-"You were taking too long!"- Monobear cheerfully announced the start of the voting time. It wasn't long before everybody had submitted a name. –"Results are in! Guilty, not guilty, what's the result, aaaah?"-

Everybody was silent while Monobear basked in the drama he was trying to create without much success. Then the result was announced. –"Once again you bastards did it! It's correct! Chihiro Toriumi-san murdered Yukio…Reiji…whoever the victim was!"-

Ogata closed her eyes, pained. Toriumi didn't react angrily. She merely sighed. –"Fuck, I failed"-

-""Fuck, I failed?"! Is that all you have to say?!"- Ogata suddenly shouted. Toriumi looked at her, coldly.

-"What else do you want me to say?"-

-"Say you're sorry! Say you regret it! Say that you don't know what you were doing, but say something!"-

-"I can't say something I don't feel. I was blessed with a quick mind, so when I saw the chance to get out of the shelter and get a wish, I went ahead. And we both could have gone outside, Akane"-

-"At the cost of all their lives?"- Ogata waved her hand around, pointing at the graduates. Toriumi shrugged.

-"A death, or eight in this case, for one's wellbeing is necessary. I'm more upset that you didn't take the chance, Akane. You could be out by now"-

-"Do you think Monobear would have let you take Ogata-san out as your wish?"- Hikasa crossed his arms. Toriumi nodded.

-"It isn't like I was going to take all of you out. It was merely one person, and in coma. Even with her awoken, I'm sure I'd have been let out with her. And even if he refused, I'd have found a way to…persuade him"- she looked at Monobear, who pretended to shudder due to her cold glare –"I was sure I was going to get away with this. With Akane in coma and with Yukio dead, I was sure the rest would be stupid enough to vote for an innocent person"-

-"She sure is a charming woman, eh?"- Kudo whispered to Hikasa.

-"You were willing to trade all these lives for our sake…? That's…"- Ogata felt disgusted. She had formed a bond with the people alive in that moment. Maybe when everything was just starting she would even have taken the chance to get out, but now she knew she wouldn't be in peace if everybody died.

Toriumi scowled. She was getting increasingly annoyed with Ogata's attitude. She had expected something different. The Tutor had actually expected Ogata to take the chance to leave the shelter –"What kind of fairytale are you living in? These days you can't think of everybody. It's a matter of survival, and it's about time you realize it. This is Junko Enoshima's world"-

-"But there must be a way…"-

-"There's no way! Leave that idealism of yours behind and have a good look around! Do you think that nobody here has killed to survive out there? Raise your hand if you haven't killed!"- Toriumi said angrily. Ogata raised her hand almost instantly, but nobody followed her gesture. Instead they all looked around, ashamed or knowing that what Toriumi was saying was the truth. The Tutor, seeing how she was right, grinned almost sadistically. –"And there you have it. We all have or had blood on our hands. You're the only one who refuses to see the mound of shit our world is sitting on"-

Ogata shut her mouth as if she had been punched. She was in clear pain and disgust at Toriumi's words. _Toriumi-san does have some points…but that can't be all the truth_

-"Toriumi-san, as long as there are people willing to fight to get rid of that mound of shit, putting oneself above the rest is possible"-

-"How can you say that when you have killed for your own survival, you prick"- Toriumi hissed

-"I never said it was for my own survival. I do have killed, but my life wasn't the only one saved by my actions. That's a difference between you and us. You intended to kill eight of us for the sake of one or two at most. Meanwhile, everybody here but you are perfectly willing to kill if it means saving the rest of us.

Nobody here is willing to continue living in this world. We prefer to change it"-

Yukio hoped that his words did echo on the other graduates' intentions. He did trust that they weren't going to kill anybody anymore…and he also knew that if they all found the Mastermind, everybody would rip that person's body until the Mastermind didn't exist anymore.

Finally Toriumi sighed. –"Whatever. Maybe there's something you see that I don't, but I'm not going to be here to find out. Just let me die"- Toriumi walked to Monobear, who had been listening to the Tutor's words with lots of pride. Toriumi looked at Monobear's eyes; she could swear she saw Enoshima's will and teachings filling those eyes.

-"Then let's start the execution! For her heinous crime, Chihiro Toriumi, ex-Super High School Level Private Tutor will die today! Any last words?"- He asked tauntingly. Toriumi ignored the taunt but took the chance for a few last words:

-"Let me teach you all a final thing: how you must face your deaths"- and with that, she walked towards the metal doors that led to the execution chambers. She was so far the only culprit to have walked to death instead of being dragged by chains. For a moment admiration filled Yukio's heart. _She could have been a great teammate…_

* * *

**_Pop Quiz_ **

Toriumi had been taken to the execution chamber as soon as she crossed the door. It was total darkness until she felt she was tied down, and several objects were attached to her head and arms. Soon the lights turned on and she was able to look around her.

She was in a classroom, identical to Hope's Peak's classrooms. She was tied to one of the chairs, and on the desk in front of her she saw a panel with five buttons, marked A, B, C, D and E. The objects that had been attached to her skin were wires.

Monobear, with glasses and a tie, was standing in front of the chalkboard, getting Toriumi's attention. Once the Tutor looked at him, he quickly wrote a question on the board in a language Toriumi didn't recognize. Then he wrote a list of options and pointed at the buttons on the panel, as if he expected Toriumi to use one to answer.

She blinked and slowly pressed hat she hoped was the correct answer to whatever question Monobear had asked. Monobear negated with his head, and in that moment Toriumi experienced a strong electrical shock. Pained, she grunted, trying to endure the shock, until it stopped. She panted, with her eyes wide open. She lifted her eyes to see that Monobear had written another question, once again in a foreign language.

For several questions the cycle repeated. Each time the shock was stronger, starting to leave Toriumi with visible wounds on the points where the wires were glued to her, but she kept pressing the buttons. Whether it was recklessness, hope to find the correct answer at least once or merely she showing that she wasn't afraid of death, she continued pressing the buttons, not even once refusing to do it.

Finally Monobear had enough of his torture. Seeing that the Tutor wasn't willing to submit to despair, he decided to end it. The last time Toriumi pressed an incorrect answer, the shock was high enough to kill her. She trembled uncontrollably, biting her tongue in the process, until her heart stopped in middle of the discharge. When it ended she slumped on the buttons, with nothing happening, finally dead.

Yukio had taken Ogata in his arms when the execution started. He was sure that, since Toriumi had been pretty much Ogata's first friend in the shelter (and he had noticed that both of them had formed some sort of team in the first two investigations), the Tutor's death would be a harsh deal for her. He hadn't been wrong. Ogata cried on his shoulder until the execution ended. As soon as it was clear it was okay to leave, she left the trial room without looking behind, rejecting Yukio's comfort. For a moment Yukio considered going behind her, but Hikasa stopped him.

-"Let her grieve. Give her a moment to be alone. Then go"- he said.

Yukio nodded. He supposed that Hikasa had been left to do the same when Ginchiyo was executed. He had grieved and somebody had taken the time to check on him. It hadn't been Yukio, but somebody had done it. And the Weightlifter seemed to have left it behind, although his expression showed that he was thinking about Ginchiyo's execution.

At least the pain was sealed.

-"So…now what?"- Yukio said to nobody.

-"…Now we continue living"- Yamaguchi said before leaving the trial room.

Chiba approached Yukio. –"Thank you for your help in the trial, Yukio-kun. You…I don't know what we would have done without you"-

_We'd be dead. I swear that happens in every trial, we almost die until somebody saves us in the last moment._

-"And if it makes you feel better…"- Chiba continued –"…I agree with you. Nobody else here will kill for selfish motives. We're all going to survive"-

-"There are eight of us left now. There were too many deaths already"-

-"In the battlefield we can't focus on the deaths. We can only continue fighting. Once the battle is over you can grieve to your heart's content. So let's wait until we're out before crying, alright?"- Chiba smiled weakly, and accompanied Yukio outside.

Yukio decided to check for the last time the place where his brother died. Chiba and him went to the abandoned bathroom, and contemplated the big bloodstain on the floor. –"I'm sure he was a good person before Enoshima got him"- Chiba said. Yukio nodded.

-"He was…a good person. I just hope I knew when he was ensnared by SHSL Despair"-

-"Sometimes it's better not to know, Yukio-kun. You know what they say: Ignorance is bliss. What we ignore can't hurt us". Chiba was going to leave when Yukio gave her something. She looked into her hand and saw the green ribbon he had recovered from Reiji's body when he had awoken. He also took the red ribbon lying on the blood and gave it to Chiba as well.

-"We won't need these anymore. Please do me a favor and burn them or something. Just get rid of them"-

Chiba accepted them solemnly and put them in the pocket of her military suit, and walked back to the first section. Curtis and Toyogushi were arguing something when they arrived to the cafeteria.

-"…can't stop there. They must be getting more people to work"-

-"Or they got slaughtered by rioters"- Curtis said grimly. Chiba inquired what they were talking about. Toyogushi looked at her, as if he were going to give news one didn't want to hear. And indeed, Chiba felt a mix of disappointment and confusion when she heard them.

-"The noise stopped. The people behind the shelter entrance.

They are gone"-

-ooooo-

Veritas examined the progress Vieiras and Wolfenmaus' teams had done on the door to the underground shelter.

They had managed to gather several heavy tools to break into the bunker. The first door, the one in the underground subway, had been laughably easy. Inside they found a small room that only had a plastic table, a few foldable chairs and some empty coffee cups. On the other side of the room there was something that resembled a vault door. Vieiras had notified Veritas about it, and received the order to break it down as well.

It was showing to be much harder than what the old Diavolos Avante leader thought.

-"I see several dents. If we continue hitting one of them maybe a hole will form"-

-"But that could take another day, master. Do we have time?"-

Veritas stayed silent for a moment. –"No, we don't. We'll need to do something more effective and drastic. Do you think you could engineer something that could help here?"-

Vieiras nodded, confident. Wolfenmaus decided to intervene. –"Even if Vieiras created a machine to break this door it'll be impossible to take it through the subway door"-

-"Then build the machine in this very room. How long will it take?"-

-"I don't know. Two, three days."- Vieiras said. However that was a lie. At most, it'd take him six hours with Wolfenmaus and the teams' help, but he had a reason to lie: he wanted people to die. The more people died, the more likely it was for Volkos to die as well by Veritas' hands. _Besides, the despair the people trapped here must be feeling must be a once-in-a-lifetime despair. They must bask in it for as long as possible_

Besides Vieiras wanted to have control over Diavolos Avante. Once he, Valkyrie and Wolfenmaus took over the organization they could use it to spread more despair around the world, instead of Veritas' original objective of getting power to them via restoring the world.

But for that to happen Volkos needed to die, as he was the only one who wasn't effectively brainwashed with the Enoshima AI. That was the first step.

-"Then start it now, and make sure you finish it as soon as possible. We can't take too long"- and with those words Veritas left to return to the headquarters. Vieiras watched him leave before chuckling to himself.

-"That old idiot"- Vieiras gave the teams a few instructions to gather some materials they'd need. Once everybody left, he then he turned to Wolfenmaus –"Let's go for a drink"- Wolfenmaus nodded.

-"How long before this ends?"- Wolfenmaus asked, going upstairs to the streets. Vieiras shrugged.

-"Shouldn't take too long. Nobody has been in or out of that shelter since we started watching it. Chances are that they'll run out of provisions at some point. Can't be too long"-

**Chapter 4: We All Wish For A Happy Ending**

**END**


	31. Chapter 5 - Ignorance is Bliss - (Ab)normal Days I

Akane moped on her pillow, trying to gather strengths to leave her bed. An hour had passed since the trial finished.

During the trial she had come to the realization that Toriumi had been the culprit, but it hadn’t been by her own thought. In fact, it had been suggested by the mental image of the person she wanted to see the least.

Miyata.

-ooooo-

While she was still trying to process Yukio’s accusation, she felt a cold stare on her neck. She didn’t turn around, but that didn’t stop the mental image. Soon Miyata was standing to the side of her podium.

-“You and I know the truth, don’t we?”- Miyata said hoarsely –“She killed for only one reason: you”-

Eh? It can’t have been for me. She should know I wouldn’t have accepted

-“She won’t consider your own opinion over your wellbeing. Besides it’s what you deserve: to leave the shelter”-

-“He’s completely right”- another voice, one she also recognized, sounded behind her. To the other side of the podium Reiji stood –“Who gives a damn about this lot? Not you, that’s for sure. You may as well escape with Toriumi and leave them to die”-

I couldn’t do that…

-“Are you going to let Toriumi’s kill to go for nothing? She killed because you were in a coma. And because…”- at that point Miyata made a long and mocking sigh –“…you were weak and couldn’t wake up before she did it. When you think about it it’s obvious it was all caused by you, wasn’t it?”-

-“Yes, it was! And now your friend is going to die! It doesn’t feel nice, eh? Why don’t you take responsibility for your part of the blame, Ogata-san? You know very well that you deserve it”-

At that point Akane had started to deny aloud her thoughts. Yukio and everybody had noticed and shown concern, but that didn’t stop her fragmented mind. 

-“It’s not her fault! Toriumi-san made a wrong choice and it’s all her fault”- Ginchiyo jumped on Akane’s defense.

-“And she did the wrong choice because she didn’t bother to wake up earlier!”- Miyata countered, pointing at Akane. She grasped her lab coat tightly.

Soon around her every piece of her fragmented mind started to bicker. Reiji and Miyata insisted with huge confidence that Akane would take the chance to leave the shelter, and that couldn’t care less about the other graduates, and that she’d give into despair. Meanwhile the rest of the group argued back that she wouldn’t do such a thing and that she knew what was right and what was wrong. And killing all her actual friends was very wrong.  
During their fight Akane could only feel goosebumps and say over and over to leave her alone. She didn’t want to hear any of them. She felt terrible because a part of her did want to go with Toriumi, and while it was kind of nice to see that most of her supported the rest of the graduates staying alive, the fight was breaking her soul.

She never regretted having awoken from the coma like in that moment.

At some point Toriumi had come and slapped her, but that didn’t help to soothe Akane’s increasing guilt. The voices around her from her own mind increased in intensity as well, until Yuko came to her podium and forced her to accept Toriumi’s motive for killing.

-ooooo-

I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t done that

Akane finally sat on her bed, doubting if she should go outside her room. Her clock said that it was 8:00 PM now. She may as well not go for dinner, go sleep now and meet everybody in the morning, but a sudden announcement interrupted her thoughts. 

-“Bastards! Come to the conference room. We really do need to hurry up our schedule!”-

What? Why? Don’t tell me it’s another motive. It hasn’t even been three hours since the trial!

But she had no option. She had to go and listen to what Monobear had to say or risk to make him angry. 

When she approached the Conference Room she noticed that everybody was antsy and anxious. Obviously they also thought it was too soon for another motive. However, nobody seemed to be more worried than Chiba.

Before entering the Strategist requested everybody to wait for a moment because she had an announcement too. –“Guys…when we’re done here please come to the cafeteria. There is something we need to talk about, and no, it can’t wait for tomorrow”-

-“That sounds grave, Chiba-san. Don’t tell me that…”- Akane didn’t have the courage to complete her fear. Chiba didn’t say anything in response. She instead entered first to the Conference Room.

Inside it was as always. Monobear was tapping his foot impatiently while the graduates sat in the front rows. –“Bastards, one of you must kill somebody else. Don’t think I didn’t hear you lot saying in the trial that none of you would kill. That’d be ridiculous. One of you must have enough blackness in your heart to kill in the next hours!”-

-“Is that how you’re going to prod us to kill?”- Akane grumbled –“Like this? None of us will kill for any motive you bring here. We’ll all get out of this place”-

The graduates quickly said similar things with the same faith Akane had. The Chemist felt comforted, it could be possible, after all! Eight people surviving a mutual killing game, that’d be a good blow against the Mastermind. However a doubt wormed its way into her thoughts. There was a good chance that the Mastermind was one of her seven friends. But which one would it be, then? She trusted all of them…and couldn’t picture any being the one responsible for trapping them in the shelter.

-“Is that so? I’ll take that as a challenge. Everybody, what would you say if I told you that some of your memories have been erased?”-

That did work to make the graduates nervous. –“What? Erased memories?”- Yamaguchi murmured to Hikasa.

-“I think that those kids in the killing game in Hope’s Peak had their memories erased –“the Weightlifter replied –“We must have gone through the same treatment”-

-“But I don’t feel anything missing!”- Yukio said –“I remember Hope’s Peak, my life before that, my graduation, working as a lawyer…there’s nothing I don’t remember”-

-“Then I’ll spoil you all the surprise: you have been in this shelter for longer than you think!”- Monobear announced proudly.

-“No, impossible. I remember clearly that I got here, entered that door in the subway, and saw a room and…eeeeh…”- Kudo had talked with confidence but it deflated after he got to that point –“…I was in my room in this shelter and…”- his voice trailed off, having realized the possibility –“Could it be that there were memories erased between the time I entered that door and the moment I awoke in my room?”-

-“That’s exactly what was removed! You all supposedly woke up in your rooms after entering through the subway, but you actually were in here for some time. That’s what I’m talking about”-

-“How long have we forgotten?”- Curtis said, almost panicking –“How long were we here before the deaths started? Months? Years? Is it years?”-

-“Upupupu, get ready for the truth because…yoooooooou…”- Monobear did a dramatic pose –“have lost a whole week of memories of your lives!”-

The announcement wasn’t received with the fear Monobear had expected. Instead he received glacial silence. He looked at the graduates, hoping to see at least one of them falling into despair, but the expressions showed more disappointment than anything else.

-“…that was really anticlimactic”- Curtis deadpanned.

-“Underwhelming. The Mastermind really is a disgrace of a villain if they can’t think of a motive to strike fear”- Yukio said.

-“But come on! Lost memories! One week! What could have happened during that week here in the shelter? OooooOoooooO!”- Monobear howled in a ghostly manner, more silly than mysterious. The graduates stood up of their seats in complete silence and started walking towards the doors of the Conference Room. Monobear, seeing that nobody was taking him seriously right now, closed the doors. –“Pity, pity. I thought it’d be enough, but looks like I’ll have to take out the big guns”-

-“We have more important stuff to do so say it quick, alright?”- Chiba said, sighing. The bear gave a quick bow.  
-“Yes, ma’am. Sit down bastards because this will be good: the memories of that week wasn’t the only part of your lives I took from you. I also took from you…your darkest secret. Darker than the ones I showed you some days ago and for some of you it’s related to that”-

-“That sounds like a favor more than anything else”- Kudo commented.

-“Oh, it definitely wasn’t a favor. It’s more of like the last resort I have to push you all to murder. So here’s the motive: if nobody dies, starting from midnight I’ll start returning you people your darkest memories. Every six hours one of you will receive them”-

-“That…that doesn’t sound so bad”- Hikasa said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

-“Do you think so? Getting something you did shoved back into you…specially if it’s something you thought you’d never do…do you think that isn’t bad?”-

-“I think that’d depend on whatever memory you have there. I’m willing to take the risk of finding out what you call ‘my darkest secret’”- Chiba said with great confidence and walked to the entrance, waiting for Monobear to open it.

The bear, seeing how none of the graduates were paying him the attention he needed in the way he wanted, begrudgingly opened the doors. The graduates slowly left and went to the cafeteria, leaving Monobear alone in the Conference Room.

Monobear sighed. The person who had input the programming into him hadn’t expected the survivors to not to take the threat seriously, so he was at a loss of what to do. Soon an order sparked in his head.

“We only need to return one single memory and somebody will die. I guarantee it. Prepare the machine. Further instructions in four hours”

Monobear nodded and entered the podium. It was a shortcut to the part of the shelter beyond the door with the keyboard in the Headmaster’s Office, where there were a few more rooms. In one of them, a machine stood, the machine that had been used on the fifteen graduates at the end of the real first week in the shelter

-ooooo-

-“Hah! Monobear really is losing steam. That was a weak motive”- Chiba said cheerfully while everybody was sitting down in the cafeteria.

-“Yeah” None of us is going to kill for memories being returned. What could we have done that will push us to kill?”- Akane said

-“It isn’t like any of us is SHSL Despair. Monobear had clearly said there was only one, and it was Reiji. The Mastermind is grasping at whatever he can to make us kill”- Yamaguchi declared

-“But why did he give us a motive so quick? I feel there’s something that we don’t know yet”- Yukio mused. At that moment Chiba’s cheerful expression darkened. The Strategist stood up, getting everybody’s attention. –“Oh true, you were going to announce something. What is it?”-

-“Alright, first than all: I have completed the plan for when the rescuers or the rioters, whatever they are, break down the shelter door. During the night I’ll be passing each of you an envelope under your bedrooms doors. It’s kind of an awkward way to give instructions, but it should suffice”-

-“Why don’t you give them now?”- Curtis asked.

-“I need to draw some diagrams first to include with the plans, so it isn’t completely ready. You’ll all know what to do in the morning if everything goes like I want it. However there’s a more worrying matter”-

Chiba went into the kitchen and brought out a lot of plates covered in aluminium foil. She put two of them in front of each graduate, but when Toyogushi started pulling the foil out, Chiba stopped him. Once everybody got the plates, she took a deep breath.

-“These are the last rations there are. We ran out of food”-

Those news affected them more than Monobear’s motive.

After the week and half they had spent in the shelter, the threat that was staring at then from the horizon had finally arrived. Starving wasn’t an “if” now. It would be a “when”, if they didn’t get out of the shelter quickly.

Akane felt a pang of despair at the possibility of dying of starvation in the shelter despite surviving so far in the trial. It was unfair and a harsh blow to anybody’s ego, to know that it’d be futile unless they somehow managed to escape.

-“I’m giving you all your rations so you may manage them any way you want. However remember that there’s no more food…and to be honest the chances of getting out are looking pretty grim right now”-

-“…we are not any closer to knowing the Mastermind’s identity, you mean that, right?”- Hikasa said, staring at his plates. Chiba nodded.

-“Exactly. We have formed theories and all, but that doesn’t help if we can’t confront the Mastermind and make that person let us go. I won’t lie: our chances are not good”-

The weight of her words fell on each graduate, stunning them. Despite everything they had done and all the time they fought it seemed like it was hopeless now. Starving did seem like a more real possibility than before.

-“You know that this is a good reason to kill, don’t you?”-

Akane turned around. Toriumi was behind her. –“And if you don’t think that, surely somebody will. Starving…a slow, agonizing death…feeling how you don’t have energy for anything…laying down at some point and never getting up again…are you going to let that happen to you?”-

-“Oh, she will”- Miyata appeared with Toriumi –“She’s too weak to see what’s good for he. She’ll cling to the rest until she dies. It’s pitiful”-

Akane tried her best to endure her mind’s words, but she noticed something: no other mind fragments came to her help. During the trial the rest had been there and fought against Miyata and Reiji, but now none of them were around.

Yukio noticed that Akane was cringing as if she had a really strong headache. –“Are you alright, Akane-chan?”-

-“She doesn’t look good. Must be a consequence of the coma”- Curtis stood up and slowly made the Chemist stand up –“Yukio-kun, help me take her to her room”-

The Assistant and the Artist managed to make Akane lean on them and walked her to her room. The Chemist was so entranced by the words Miyata and Toriumi were saying that she didn’t notice she had been taken away from the cafeteria until they were in front of the door of her bedroom. When they got to the entrance, Akane stood up by herself. –“I’m okay, I’m okay”- she said weakly.

-“Are you sure? You looked real bad”- Curtis said. Akane tried to make him forget that, and used her ID to open her bedroom. 

-“I’m okay, really”-

-“Akane-chan, do you need to talk about what happened in the trial?”- Yukio asked, worried. Akane looked at him, making clear that she had a big struggle in her heart. However her words weren’t exactly encouraging.

-“No, I don’t need that. Just...leave me alone”-

Yukio reluctantly left Akane alone. The Chemist watched him leave and closed the door. She jumped on the bed without even taking her lab coat off, and closed her eyes.

-“Ogata-san, are you alright? Sleeping won’t help you to solve your problems”- Akane heard Matsukaze saying that. Without opening her eyes, she turned around.

-“Leave me alone”-

-ooooo-

Vieiras and Wolfenmaus were laughing whole-heartedly just outside the shelter door. They had taken the chairs and now were resting while some of the Diavolos Avante members worked on the machine Vieiras had sketched. From time to time Vieiras barked some orders, but most of the time everybody worked at a slow pace. After all Vieiras had said there was no hurry.

Anyone who looked at them wouldn’t have ever guessed that they were “honorary SHSL Despair”, as they liked to call each other. However they did well in keeping that secret from everybody else except Valkyrie. After all if any of them blurted right there that they even sympathized with Enoshima’s work surely they’d get killed in the spot by the teams.

-“Excuse me; this was just passed through that vent”-

One of the team members had an envelope, passing it to Vieiras. Wolfenmaus meanwhile examined the vent it had come from, not seeing anything or anybody in there. Vieiras dismissed the worker and looked at the envelope. On the outside it had a logo he knew very well. He gritted his teeth, feeling hostile towards it.

-“Isn’t that the Future Foundation logo?”- Wolfenmaus had returned.

-“Definitely. This comes from Volkos… I did know there was a mole connected with the Future Foundation, but I never suspected Volkos was the one”-

-“Wouldn’t that be betrayal to our organization?”-

-“It’ll be now”- Vieiras opened the envelope, taking out a piece of paper. He read it once and narrowed his eyes. The Main Board member reread the message over and over, trying to understand what it meant –“…I can’t believe it”-

-“What? What does it say?”-

-“Finders keepers”- and after hitting softly Wolfenmaus’ face with the envelope while giggling, he got to the vent and passed the envelope and message back –“Hahahahaha, you’re now left behind, Wolfenmaus! No more being equals. I’m the superior here!”-

Wolfenmaus shrugged. He was feeling several contradicting emotions. Annoyance at having been downgraded, wrath for not having done that first, and envy at what Vieiras may do now. And emanating from all them a common denominator: a will to inflict despair in himself and others. 

-“Change of plans, everybody! We need to finish this as soon as possible. Stop lazing around and do it”-

The team sprang into action and sped up the construction of the machine. Vieiras looked at them coldly. However the message Volkos had passed through the vent was bothering him. It was something he hadn’t expected.

-“…That wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan. What’s going on now?”- He said slowly and softly, talking to himself.

-ooooo-

Monobear’s internal clock indicated it was midnight, time to carry out the orders he had received from the Mastermind.

The bear exited the Headmaster’s Office and got to the bedrooms hall, stopping in front of the door of the graduate chosen to get the memories back. Carefully, Monobear passed his claw through the ID identification contraption, opening the door.

The graduate, sensing something menacing, slowly woke up. Blinking, they focused on Monobear, who had climbed the bed and was now pulling from the bedsheets.

-“Wake up!”- Monobear ordered. The graduate, knowing that arguing with Monobear was pointless, quickly dressed up and followed him. They were confident that whatever Monobear was going to give back wouldn’t change their stance about killing.

The graduate was surprised to see that, after leading them to the Headmaster’s Office, Monobear tapped the password on the keyboard. The bear didn’t even make an effort to ensure the graduate didn’t see the password. The graduate, knowing it was important not to forget it, quickly took a piece of paper there was around and wrote the password on the back while the door opened. They quickly hid it in their pocket, and followed Monobear into the restricted area.

The graduate looked around in amazement at the odd structure of the area beyond the closed door. They hadn’t expected so many possible paths, but the most important one was where Monobear was going. A cold glow emanated from the room at the end, until the contraption came into view. The graduate gasped, recognizing it.

-“Get on there”- Monobear ordered, pushing the graduate until the chosen person was sitting on a chair, with several thin steel skewer-like contraptions pointing at their head. The graduate felt a shiver up their spine, imagining for a moment that the skewers plummeted over them, killing them.

Monobear put a clamp on the graduate’s head, immobilizing it, just in time for them to hear steps. The Mastermind had entered the room, and the graduate’s position didn’t let them see who it was. The Mastermind didn’t even talk, so recognizing the voice wasn’t a possibility either.

The Mastermind got to the controls on the side of the contraption, and loaded the commands on the machine, with precise words. The Mastermind had planned this moment for a good amount of time, with full confidence that the move would provoke a death. So much confidence this person had that there wasn’t even a second target decided.

And with an excited shudder, the Mastermind activated the machine.

The graduate felt how electrical currents emerged from the skewers, entering in their head and brain. Images flashed in their mind, while the graduate couldn’t talk or scream. With each second their heart accelerated with fear and horror.

Finally the process was finished, and the currents stopped. Monobear quickly removed the clamp, and the Mastermind escaped into another room. The graduate slowly rose up, eyes wide open. They shakily stood up and gave a few steps towards the way back to the shelter, accompanied by Monobear, until they couldn’t resist anymore.

The graduate started screaming. Horror, despair, and an unbelievable amount of grief had filled the chosen target’s heart, with no way for them to contain or fight it. Monobear’s threat had been way harsher than they had expected.

The screams lasted until they got back to the Headmaster’s Office.

-ooooo-

Akane’s eyes darted wide open after a few uneasy hours of sleep. She groggily sat, and rubbed her eyes to look at the clock. 5:00 AM.

At that time Chiba was most likely awake, but she didn’t feel like talking to her. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that despite everything she hadn’t eaten anything last night. Oh true. There’s not much food left, but I can’t hold hunger. This will be a long day

The Chemist put on her lab coat. She wasn’t feeling exactly filled with energy, but a part of her knew that she wasn’t going to be able to sleep any longer. Besides, and for once in the last 24 hours, she was alone in her room. Completely alone.

The mental images were gone.

The silence was like a blessing for her, and she intended to take advantage of their absence for as long as she could.

She exited her bedroom, stretching to start the new day. She walked to the shelter entrance and put her ear against the cold steel. She swore she could hear something, but it didn’t sound like efforts to get her out. Nothing was banging on the shelter door, nor there were voices shouting to bring more help to rescue a few people.

It was more of a constant sizzling noise. Akane shrugged, hoping that at the very least it’d be effective in getting them out.

Now what?

Seeing how it was so early, she figured that the best course of action would be to explore whatever new area opened after the latest trial. However she didn’t feel like going around the shelter around. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she craved some company.

The Chemist paced back and forth in the bedrooms hall, until she finally decided on one of her friends. Apologizing mentally for possibly waking up him, she knocked on the door.


	32. Chapter 5 - Ignorance is Bliss - (Ab)normal Days II

Hikasa opened the door, yawning. He raised his eyebrows when he saw who was knocking on his door at such an early hour. –"Ogata-san?"-

-"I'm sorry for waking you up, Hikasa-kun. I wanted some company…"-

The Weightlifter sighed, and after telling Akane to wait for a moment, he closed the door. Akane waited for a few minutes before Hikasa got out of his bedroom, fully dressed. –"Why me? I'd have imagined you'd have chosen Yukio-kun as the one to talk with you"-

-"I don't think he has got a friend who ended being the culprit of a murder, then had to watch the execution. You…You went through the same than I, so you should be better in a moment like this"-

Hikasa nodded, not mentioning that Ginchiyo had been more than a friend to him. While they walked towards the fourth section, Hikasa decided to go ahead and try to at least help Akane to diminish the pain she must be feeling. –"Do you feel betrayed?"-

-"…It's more along the lines of 'I didn't think she would do that'"-

-"She wouldn't have, surely."- Hikasa said, not really believing his own words.

-"I think she would have done it either way. If not for me, then for herself. If I had been murdered or executed or something, I'm sure she'd have tried to kill somebody. It…makes me paranoid, to be honest. We never know what somebody is capable of doing…including calling us all to the shelter. What if another one of my friends is the one who locked us here? What if it is Chiba-san, or Curtis-kun, or…"-

_…_ _or the very person I'm talking with right now._

Hikasa patted Akane's back in an effort to comfort her. –"Don't think about that. Have faith, and answer me this: do you think that any of us is the Mastermind?"-

The Chemist thought for a moment. –"Yes. I think one of us eight is the Mastermind. But no clues. I wish I were smarter"-

The duo got to the entrance towards the fifth section. Akane peered down the hallway. Much to her surprise, in the distance she could see bright illumination. Akane gasped, for a moment thinking that it could mean a way out. She started running, with Hikasa trailing behind. Soon she reached the point where the hallway turned illuminated. There were no doors, windows or anything, instead several big blubs on the walls. The fifth section was much different than the rest, as it was only one long hallway. However the contents of the section were different and much more meaningful.

-"…What's this place? Seems like a museum"- Hikasa commented, approaching the nearest exhibition. There were several newspaper cutouts about a young kid doing tricks and amazing people on the roof of a school, and under them one could see a motorcycle.

-"This must be about Toyogushi-kun, right? Nobody else here fits this stuff"- Akane looked closely at the motorcycle, noticing it had no engines.

-"Then the rest of exhibitions are about us? It's odd…why would there be exhibitions about us in a shelter under the city?"-

-"This must be a clue left by the Mastermind"- a voice said, further down the hall. Akane looked, to see Ginchiyo staring at a screen embedded into the wall. Akane sighed, bummed out that her time away of her hallucinations was over now, but approached to see what Ginchiyo's image was looking at. On the screen, as a loop, was a video of a behind-the-scenes moment of some movie Ginchiyo…both her and her sister…were doing. Akane felt oddly sad when she saw how happy the sisters looked while they pointed around and gave orders to everybody.

-"This one is mine"- Hikasa pointed at several medals on the wall –"I recognize them. They're not the originals, but these definitely are medals I have earned"-

-"Wow, this is a lot of gold"-

-"I'm rather proud of my achievements"- Hikasa beamed –"I obtained all of these before I got to Hope's Peak"-

-"Why did you decide to take weightlifting as your talent?"- Akane asked. Hikasa shrugged.

-"I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe my father had an influence. He was a bodybuilder of sorts, and he tried to turn me into a mass of muscle like him. And he was successful"- Hikasa laughed –"But I do remember that in the trainings I insisted to use the weights more than anything else. It felt…amazing, being able to lift them. There were other similar exercises, but I felt as if I had found something special"-

-"Did your father train you?"-

-"He did, at first. Then my parents got divorced, and he practically vanished from my life. I continued my training alone…more or less. I had to bribe some friends to be my spotters when I was training. My friends were the worst, ever. I had to pay them to do it"-

Akane nodded absentmindedly, with Ginchiyo following her. She was more interested on the next exhibit than in Hikasa's past. It wasn't that she didn't care about the story of his life; it was that the next exhibition seemed odd.

-"…Is this some sort of mask?"-

Hikasa approached and examined the object pinned on the wall. It looked like a mask, but it was amazingly realistic. Akane expected it to drip blood if she removed it from the wall. –"That's fucked up. The eyes are unnerving me"-

Akane looked away, grossed out. It was as if somebody had plastered somebody's face, eyes and teeth included, on the wall. She turned to the next exhibition. There were more newspaper cutouts, informing about somebody's death. –"The Delacroix murder…"- she read.

-"Delacroix? That sounds familiar"-

-"I have heard about it. In Kyoto, some woman was stabbed with a katana through the chest several years ago. The culprit, a French girl called Delacroix, was judged and somehow got away with the crime everybody knew she had done"-

-"But how is it related to the shelter?"- Hikasa wondered, reading the article.

-"Here"- a hand pointed from behind Akane. The Chemist briefly turned around, and frowned. Matsukaze was with Ginchiyo now. The dead Detective pointed to one of the photos. Akane examined it closely.

-"Oh look, it's Matsukaze-kun"- In the photo she could see the Detective, clearly leading the investigation of the murder –"He look rather young…and weaker"-

-"He doesn't even look like a detective"- Hikasa chuckled. The Matsukaze in the photo was more as if some schoolboy had snuck into a crime scene.

_…_ _This was clearly while he was way too young to be part of the police force…_

-"I understand now what's this place's sense"- Hikasa declared –"This hall must show what got us into Hope's Peak"-

-"…That's actually possible! Those medals you say you won before entering the school, the screen over there…Ginchiyo-san's exhibit must be about The Flight of the Red Phoenix and this must be an important case Matsukaze-kun closed successfully"-

-"Then what's up with that mask? It's a mask, right? Not somebody's skin…right?"- Hikasa said, eyeing it with disgust.

Akane didn't look it again. She preferred to forget it. –"Let's just continue ahead"- _But why are these things here? They must have been brought by the Mastermind, but why? Is there a clue here? I should pay attention to each exhibit and what they mean_

-"Here's this map, with a lot of pins and other stuff on it. Looks like a campaign map in northern Japan"- Hikasa said, walking to the next exhibition –"This must be Chiba-san's past"-

-"This doesn't seem familiar"-

-"If it's from the military it's natural nobody would have heard a thing. But somehow it's here…the Mastermind had access to it"-

_Not anybody could obtain military secrets like these._

-"Is there anything else with lots of secrecy?"- Matsukaze asked Akane, as if she knew. Without replying back, she passed to the next.

-"More newspaper"- she said before reading it closely. When she noticed the topic of the article, her eyes widened –"This is about the Delacroix case too!"-

-""Lawyer Ohmoto Shiratori fell ill in middle of Delacroix trial. His sons take the reins of the defense""- the Weightlifter read –"So the ones who let Delacroix get a non-guilty verdict…were the twins?"-

-"Apparently so. This suggests that the Ohmotos and Matsukaze-kun could have met each other before"-

-"But none of them commented that…maybe they didn't meet in that case, despite being involved in it"-

 _But this is the second time Delacroix is mentioned here._ _Could there be something deeper than just name mentions?_

The next exhibition was a stack of papers on the floor. Akane lifted one of them, and read. In them she read several names, each one with the same information -"Name, Grade before tutoring, Grade after tutoring, Commentaries". No points for guessing whose exhibit we're looking at. But damn, this list is huge!"-

-"Nothing useful or interesting, move on"- Hikasa practically dragged Akane to check the next one. It was a statue, most likely a copy. –"Artistic nonsense. This should be Curtis-kun's"-

-"But Curtis-kun isn't a sculptor. And look, here's something pinned on the wall: "Statue "The Joys of Summer", sold by Hoshio Saitou with the price of seventy million yen""-

-"Are you telling me that Saitou sold this? Surely he must have sold more like these! That guy was filthy rich!"- Hikasa said, astonished, the Salesman really didn't seem like he had that much money.

-"Yet he's known for selling novelty crap. Clearly his possible wealth was pretty well hid…for some reason"- she examined the statue. It didn't seem like a copy…but she knew nothing of sculptures, so moot point.

-"Why would he hide it?"-

-"…I can only think that there was something shady going on with those sales"- Akane murmured, trying not to imagine what it was. She already had too much in her head already.

Another TV screen embedded into the wall had a looping image of what looked like a talk show. Sawashiro, still unable to look at people at the eyes, was channeling some dead person. Akane watched how the Medium contorted as if she had drank something really bitter, until she started talking in a way Akane thought she'd never talk. –"She's a sham, isn't she?"- Hikasa commented.

-"I doubt it. Hope's Peak wouldn't accept a sham…there must be something that does prove she's the real deal"-

-"But if she is a sham, then the whole show she did in the first night here could be a big deception to foreshadow her death. She could have planned it all along. Think about it, Ogata-san, we never saw her die. She fell into that pit of fire and the trapdoor closed. It could have been all an elaborate trick"-

-"Remember Volkos"- Sawashiro whispered to Akane. The Chemist remembered a detail that could remove Sawashiro from the suspects list.

-"Remember that Vol…"- Akane looked around. Monobear wasn't anywhere near her, but she decided not to take chances –"Remember that Vorudemoto person? Matsukaze-kun interrogated you and Miyata-kun about that person. If it had been Sawashiro-san, I don't think Matsukaze-kun would have bothered to do that. It's clear he suspected Vorudemoto was one of the others"-

-"So Sawashiro-san may not be the Mastermind, after all. I got nothing"- Hikasa admitted, annoyed.

On the wall there was a beautiful dress in a frame. Akane felt mesmerized looking at it. It was so beautiful and carefully detailed, and managed to give her feelings of being in front of something exceptional. –"Yamaguchi-san created this? Wow, this is…"- she had no words.

-"Eeeh…yeah, it's nicely crafted. Wasn't Yamaguchi-san Enoshima-san's follower in fashion?"-

-"More or less"-

Hikasa made a grunt, which Akane somehow interpreted as 'She could have followed her in something else'. This made the Chemist instantly jump to Yamaguchi's defense.

-"Before you say anything, let me tell you that I'm completely sure that Yamaguchi-san isn't the Mastermind. She really regrets having met Enoshima, and I'm sure she wouldn't do anything SHSL Despair would do"-

-"Whatever. I'm hungry, it's way too early and I'm starting to get cranky. Let's go for breakfast"- Hikasa said before leaving the hall, not even bothering to check the last two exhibitions. Akane watched him leave towards the other sections. She tried to ignore her own hunger for long enough to check the last parts of the hallway.

Then she found a big board with a long row of formulas still written all over it. Akane felt nostalgic while she admired the formula for a chemical compound she had created mere weeks before being contacted by Hope's Peak. _Those really were simpler times._

Knowing that there was no way for her exhibition to mean anything, she looked at the last one, a collection of photos with a really young Miyata giving orders to a lot of people, most of his age, who were painting different vehicles around. Despite them not even being fifteen years old, they were doing a rather good job. She had expected something more akin to the efforts of a bunch of elementary school students.

-"It's sad. All of us had a brilliant future ahead, and it got ruined because of something out of our control"- Ginchiyo said –"And now more than half of us won't ever have the chance to obtain it"-

Akane didn't reply to that. Instead, she noticed that only Ginchiyo, Sawashiro and Matsukaze were around. The rest of mental images weren't present. –"Where's the rest of you?"-

-"..No idea. If I had to guess…I'd suppose your head trauma is healing"-

Akane knew what this would entail: progressively, the mental images, both the good and the bad, would appear and less until they never came back. And she didn't mind that –"Wow, that was quick. It hasn't even been 24 hours"-

-"It's better that way and you know it"- Sawashiro said, pointing behind Akane-"But I think you should focus on something else, namely, that door"-

Akane turned around, finally noticing a big metallic door, of the same color than the concrete the walls were made of –"…I didn't see that. Does that mean there's a sixth section?"-

-"I don't think it's another section. The other doors were different than this one. Something new or important must be behind this one…"- Matsukaze gave his opinion.

-"Or this could be another way out of the shelter"- Ginchiyo suggested. Akane examined the door, finding it to be as sturdy and invulnerable like the entrance door. Her hopes of breaking out vanished. However something about the hallway was bothering her…she was sure something was amiss.

That's when the announcement rang.

-"A body has been found! After a short period for investigation, the trial will start!"-

_…_ _what? What?!_

-"How could somebody die? We were all supposed to get out of here together!"- Akane screamed, while she ran back to the fourth section. She was anxious to see who died, and was eager to catch whoever was the culprit, no matter who did it –"We…We were all friends, why somebody else had to die?!"- She panted while she searched frantically for the dead body. The announcement sounded, so three graduates had to have seen it.

Nothing in the fourth section, so she returned to the third, then to the second, and then to the first. With each minute she grew more agitated, until she finally found the group, standing on front of doors to the cafeteria. –"Here she is"- Toyogushi said, noticing the Chemist incoming.

-"What happened?! Who is dead?!"-

Without waiting a reply or even checking who wasn't in the group, she pushed Toyogushi aside until she was able to see into the cafeteria.

It was a disaster. The little food they had was now strewn around. The tables and chairs were broken and in disarray, and the door to the kitchen was unhinged.

And in front of the open door to the pantry was a dead body Akane recognized instantly. Lying dead in a huge pool of her own blood, with some sort of object piercing her chest, Akane recognized Tomoe Chiba, ex-SHSL Strategist.


	33. Chapter 5 - Ignorance is Bliss - Abnormal Days I

Akane was in shock, as expected. The leader of the group was dead. She had been murdered.

And that made her the person in charge now. Didn't Chiba tell her that she was the second in charge? It had never been something important, as it wasn't even announced around, but it had been said. The problem was that Akane didn't feel capable of being the leader.

She would have preferred much more that Chiba had chosen somebody else.

However as the person in charge, she had to lead people, even if it was clumsy and all. And with that in mind, she made her first request.

-"So…we should investigate the murder"- she said the obvious.

How she hated that moment, and even more, since her dead-yet-alive-in-her-mind friends were busting a gut at her insecurity.

-"Yeah, that would be convenient"- Curtis said dryly before approaching the body.

Akane held the urge to run away and instead focused in the investigation to come. Curtis, Yukio and she kneeled aside the body. Chiba's expression showed the great amount of pain she felt in her death. –"This is way too cruel…"-

-"As always, Akane-chan. Now let's see what the weapon is…"- after steeling himself for the moment, Yukio reached the object sticking out of Chiba's chest, and pulled it out slowly. Blood seeped from the wound onto the Strategist's clothes. –"Gross…wait…Akane-chan, doesn't this look familiar to you?"- He held the object in front of Akane, trying not to stain his fingers with the blood. She looked at it until she recognized the color and material.

-"Isn't this like the stake that was in Sakurai-kun's chest?"-

-"It must be. This one is longer, but I'm sure it came from the garden fencing as well. And this time I'm sure this really was the murder weapon"-

**Stake**

_A long steel rod, sharpened, made using a section of the garden fence. The weapon of the crime_

-"…Weapon…wait, where's Monobear? Why hasn't he given us his report?"-

-"He already did, Ogata-san. You took too long to get in here, so he got fed up and left. Here's your copy"- Yamaguchi helpfully had approached, and gave Akane a copy of the report.

**Monobear File #5**

_Victim: Tomoe Chiba_

_Cause of Death: Being skewered through the chest_

_Time of Death: 2:30 AM_

_Location of the Body: Cafeteria_

_The body presents bruises and scratches all over the arms and legs. No drugs or odd substances were used in the murder_

-"2:30 AM? That was very early. Why was Chiba-san awake at that time? And fully dressed to boot"- Akane wondered.

-"Maybe she had insomnia. I wouldn't be able to sleep well if I knew we could all starve to death during the next days"- Curtis commented.

-"She wasn't the only one awake, obviously. The culprit was awake too, but two people awake in middle of the night…there must be a reason for that"- Yukio reasoned.

-"It's possible that the culprit brought Chiba somehow to here and killed her. But then there must be a reason for the culprit to have been awake…"-

-"The motive! If I'm not mistaken, Monobear had said he'd restore somebody's memories at midnight, and then every six hours. That must have been the reason the culprit was awake, because he or she was woken up by Monobear"- Yukio remembered. Akane grabbed her lab coat

-"Then Chiba-san was killed because the culprit got the memories back? It must have been something really bad for that to happen…"- Akane murmured

**Missing Memories**

_Monobear's motive. At midnight, one of the graduates got some memories back, said by Monobear to be a dark moment in the person's missing week. If there were no deaths, he'd continue doing it every six hours_

-"So if we find out who had the memories restored we'll be ensured to find the culprit. Seems like a plan"- Curtis said with enthusiasm.

-"Guys, check here it says her arms are full of bruises. Is that true?"- Kudo approached, reading the Monobear file. Curtis carefully rolled up the sleeves of Chiba's military suit and gasped.

-"Wow, these are very ugly wounds. Something like this doesn't happen by accident"-

**Wounds**

_Chiba's arms were filled with bruises and scratches, made by an unknown person or object._

-"Have you checked her pockets already?"- Yamaguchi had arrived to near the body while they inspected the wounds –"She could have something useful in there"-

Curtis nodded in approval to the suggestion, and put his hands in the pockets. –"Got some stuff in both of them"- he pulled a piece of paper, and unrolled it. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. –"I'm not sure I understand this"- the Artist passed the paper to Yukio, who didn't have any progress as well.

-"It's likely this is entirely unrelated to the murder"- he said while passing it to Akane. She grabbed it and read the content.

-"That's nonsense"- Sakurai said, looking over Akane's shoulder. She agreed. At least, at firsdt glance, it was meaningless. _TCK?_

**Piece of Paper**

_A piece of paper found in Chiba's pocket. It has 'TCK' scribbled on it, as if it had been done in a hurry_

-"And on the other side, Curtis-kun?"- Yamaguchi asked, remembering Curtis had said he had found something in both pockets. He quickly showed the contents. Akane recognized them instantly; they were Toriumi's chopsticks hair stuff.

-"She had them in her pocket? What for?"-

-"No idea, but didn't Kudo-kun have them when the trial ended yesterday? I do remember he had taken them from Toriumi-san's hair"- Yukio whispered to Akane. She nodded, knowing that. _It's possible Kudo-kun merely gave them to Chiba-san at some point. That wouldn't be strange_

**Hair Chopsticks**

_Three plastic chopsticks, used as hair decorations. Used to belong to Toriumi. Found in Chiba's pocket. Kudo had taken them at the end of the trial the day before_

-"Anything else?"-

-"Her ID, which is no surprise. I'd say we're done with the body. Let's check around"- Curtis said, straightening up. Akane focused on the pantry, wide open in front of Chiba's dead body. She saw something she hadn't expected. Curious, she carefully approached the pantry, peering inside.

There was some sort of contraption inside. It looked like some kind of slingshot, made from everyday objects, nothing complicated. It was wedged into the shelves of the pantry, and the slingshot aimed right into the center of the pantry door. She didn't have to think for long before knowing how it was supposed to work –"…Guys, look at this"-

**Contraption in the Pantry**

_An huge slingshot found in the pantry. Apparently activated when somebody opens the door, it shoots a projectile._

-"Is that a slingshot? That wasn't in the pantry before. Wasn't it closed, by the way?"- Toyogushi said, peering from behind them.

-"It was. Reiji had the key to the pantry. Does that mean Reiji was the one to do this?"- Yukio wondered.

-"But when would he have the time to do that? It was closed after he was tied to the bathroom. Even if he had freed himself, could he really have done this?"- Curtis doubted Reiji's authorship on the contraption –"And what's more, where's the key? Chiba-san didn't have it with her"-

-"I think Chiba-san had been the one to have the key during the investigation yesterday"- Toyogushi pointed.

**Pantry Key**

_The key to the pantry, presumably under Chiba's ownership since the investigation of the fourth murder. Before that it was in Reiji's ownership. Currently missing._

-"Okay, but we won't know more until we look closer"- Akane said, approaching the contraption in the pantry. –"Please don't flock around me, this is a small place"- she requested. The graduates near her followed her words, giving her some space. The Chemist examined the mechanism. It was as she had suspected: it was rigged so when one opened the door, an object placed in the core of the mechanism would be launched with great strength.

-"That would require some way for the projectile to be released. Look at the handle of the door"- Sakurai suggested to Akane. She obeyed, finding something she definitely had seen before. Tied to the handle there was a green ribbon, and on the contraption itself, there was a bloodied red ribbon. Small shreds of both colors were strewn on the floor.

_…So that's how the door was rigged._

**Ribbons**

_Two ribbons, tied from the door to the slingshot. Presumably, when cut, the slingshot would be activated. Recently cut. One of the ribbons, the red one, is bloody._

While she examined the handle, she noticed there was something covered by the ribbon. She carefully lifted it, and found the remains of a few plastic bags that had been tied together, hanging limply, cut as well. An examination of the red ribbon revealed there was one as well underneath. It looked as if the ribbons had been tied over the cut bags.

**Cut Plastic Bags**

_A few plastic bags tied together, supposed to be part of the slingshot mechanism. Apparently was tied to the handle of the door. Cut in half._

-"If these were cut then that means there was a blade. The mechanism should have one inserted, right?"- Matsukaze suggested.

-"That does make sense…"- Akane whispered to herself. This got Yukio's attention, who tried to snoop over Akane's shoulder.

-"Found something useful?"-

Akane gestured him to be silent, while she looked around the mechanism until she finally found what she looked for. She struggled to untie the knife, but the thread it was tied with hurt her fingers. It was impossible to release the knife. –"Yukio-kun, could you please…?"- She asked, trying to ignore her sore fingertips. Yukio observed the knife for a moment before ripping out the whole arm of the wooden mechanism that was holding it, and passed it to Akane. The Chemist looked at it blankly before taking it. –"Real classy"-

-"I live to serve"- he replied with a small smile. _Why is he so relaxed?_

With that thought, Akane examined the knife. It didn't look like something that would come from any place in the shelter. It looked like a custom-made knife, as if it were part of a tool set. –"Do you know if the workshop has knifes like this one?"- Akane asked, passing it to Yukio. The Assistant examined the knife before shaking his head.

-"I'm sure there isn't any, but checking shouldn't hurt, right? I'll be back"- and he left with the knife and part of the mechanism.

**Custom Knife**

_A knife, part of the slingshot mechanism, most likely to cut whatever object ties the handle to the rest of the mechanism. Origin unknown_

It didn't seem like there was anything else of interest in the mechanism, so Akane started closing the door, and turned around. Kudo, Curtis, Toyogushi and Yamaguchi had been watching her all the time; oddly enough the three of them seemed tense. –"Is there something wrong?"- She asked, trying to keep calm.

-"…We're paranoid"- Yamaguchi said softly. Akane quickly prompted her to explain what she meant. The Fashion Designer sighed, and as if it were a burden, she talked. –"…We have been discussing and…we have concluded that the Mastermind was won. We lost, Ogata-san"-

-"What?"- Akane muttered, shocked. The last thing she expected was to hear her friends giving up –"We aren't beat yet. We can still win"-

-"No, we can't. Ogata-san, the Mastermind made one of us kill…after we promised to each other we wouldn't. We were all confident in our promise, yet at the first sign of something going against it we caved. It'd be only matter of time before we all are dead"- Toyogushi said grimly.

-"And even if we catch the culprit here, we'd still die of hunger. We're all fucked"- Kudo concluded. Curtis, even if he didn't say anything, looked absent.

Akane couldn't believe it. –"No, we can't give up. We must catch the Mastermind and live. We all are supposed to leave together!"-

-"We were, but now you see"- Yamaguchi gestured to Chiba's dead body.

-"Don't take us wrong. We're going to do our best in the trial, Ogata-san"- Curtis intervened –"But after that…I think we should all get ready for our deaths. Starving is an ugly way to go"-

To see her friends so disheartened was something Akane really wasn't ready for. She felt that, as the new and currently unofficial leader, she had to say something to raise their spirits, but her mind was blank now. Chiba and she had once discussed ways to counter a situation like this, but her words had been forgotten by now. The Chemist watched powerlessly how the four graduates left the cafeteria, going to who knows where. Soon Akane as left alone in the cafeteria.

Trying to keep herself calm and focused on the investigation, she started closing the pantry door, when she felt it getting stuck. When she looked down to see the cause, she frowned and crouched. She grasped the amorphous blob and pulled, until most of it came out. She dropped it, grossed out, when she realized she had grabbed chewing gum, and already chewed, apparently.

While she scrubbed her fingertips with the lab coat, trying to get rid of the sensation in her fingers, she noticed that the chewing gum was over a stain that only could have been left by the food. _…Last night I'm sure the stain wasn't here. This is recent. And the chewing gum…was over it._

_Aha!_

**Chewing Gum**

_A piece of 'used' chewing gum, having been thrown in the recent hours, as shown by it being over stains that can't have been there the night before._

Akane stood up, and looked the disaster around. It looked like a bomb had exploded in the cafeteria. Nothing was intact, not even the door to the kitchen. –"Something very bad must have happened here. The little food you had has been smeared around, not any jerk does that"- Matsukaze said, looking closely at the stains"-

-"Could it be signs of a struggle?"-

Matsukaze doubted for a moment –"…Everything seems way too…chaotic to be a byproduct of a struggle. I can't avoid feeling there must be something deeper with this mess"-

-"A struggle would fit nicely with Chiba-san's wounds"- Akane pointed. The dead detective shrugged.

-"Whatever floats your amateur boat"-

**Cafeteria Disaster**

_Somebody threw all the food, chairs and tables around. Even the kitchen door is broken. No spot in the cafeteria is intact._

The Chemist walked around, trying to see if any food could be salvaged. Months of scavenging in abandoned stores had taught her a few tricks, but most of them wouldn't come handy right now. The most she could do is to take the layer of food that wasn't stuck to the floor. Not resisting more the hunger she had tried to ignore during the last hours, she ate all the scraps she could take. She felt dirty and frankly ashamed of doing that, but she wasn't thinking too clearly. –"You clearly have reached a new low, Ogata-san"- Sakurai said dryly.

-"Shut up. Lucky you, you're dead"-

-"I wonder if any of the others did the same than you"-

She stood up, fairly embarrassed. She hoped that nobody besides her own mind had seen her doing that. In the process of looking around to see if there were any graduates seeing her in that state, she noticed a detail nobody had seen so far. Curious, she approached the wall opposite to the pantry.

On it there was a hole, not too big, not too small. It was pretty deep, too. _Whatever hit the wall there must have been very sturdy_

**Hole on the Wall**

_A deep round hole on the wall opposite to the pantry. There's nothing in there that could indicate what created it_

While the Chemist examined the hole, Yukio returned. –"What do you have there?"-

-"I'm not sure. So, that knife, what can you tell me?"-

The Assistant returned Akane the piece of the mechanism –"Nothing in the workshop would have this as part of a set. There's nothing missing, either. I can only say this knife didn't come from the Workshop"-

Akane nodded, pleased. This could potentially mean that the knife was owned by one of the graduates, and that person would be the culprit. Possibly. She was about to thank Yukio when he continued –"But I did see something out of place over there…"-

-"Eh?"-

-"There was this toolbox. Looked brand new, it hadn't even been fully taken out of its box. However only one tool seems to have been used and later returned. I wouldn't have paid much attention if it weren't because it was a knife, too"-

-"A second knife? Could be unrelated to this murder, for all I know"-

-"The thing is…I can't avoid thinking there's something up with that. The knife was in its place inside the toolbox, but the toolbox was under one of the tables, as if it had been hidden. Why would anybody hide the box around instead of putting it back where it belongs?"-

-"…"- Akane wasn't sure how to respond. Yukio's logic seemed…bad and completely unrelated to the case –"Somebody was impish and hid it. There's no big mystery here"-

Yukio sighed –"I could be overthinking this, yeah…but I still have the gut feeling this could be important"-

-"Alright, if it makes you happy, I'll think of it as a possible clue, but mostly as a reward for doing me the favor of going to the Workshop. Did you bring it here?"- Yukio rummaged in his pockets and took out the dagger he had been carrying around and the knife he had found in the Workshop. Then she saw the reason why the Assistant may have been curious about it. _It has the same shape and size the knife found in the pantry contraption has._

**Workshop Knife**

_A knife belonging to a tool set from the Workshop. Its toolset was hidden under one of the tables over there. Has the same size and shape than the knife found in the pantry_

Yukio turned one of the chairs and sat down, relaxed. Akane really was starting to be bothered by his behavior. –"How can you be so calm? We're investigating a friend's murder!"-

-"Oh, it's just that I think I already solved half of it"- Yukio explained. Akane's eyes widened as she prompted him to explain himself –"I can clearly see the culprit's plan, or at least most of it. He intended to frame one person and use it as their way to escape punishment"-

-"Who's getting framed, then?"-

-"Think about it, Akane-chan"- Yukio started hitting one of the knocked tables while he made his point –"Who had the key to the pantry?"-

-"Eeeh…Chiba-san…"-

-"No, before that"-

-"…Reiji?"-

-"Exactly. I'd bet anything that the culprit's intention is to frame Reiji for the murder. Not that I'm saying brother dearest didn't have anything to do with this, though. I'm completely sure he built the slingshot with the intention to kill one of us"-

-"For the love of…Not everything in this damn story has to trace back to him"- Akane grumbled, discontent.

Yukio chose to ignore the curious use of the word 'story' -"Whatever. He's an easy scapegoat, being SHSL Despair and all. But if he ends being the Mastermind I'm going to be royally pissed"-

-"So the culprit is framing him, according to you"-

-"Indeed. So here's my affirmation"- Yukio dramatically pointed at Akane's face. For a moment the Chemist feared he was about to accuse her, but much to her relief, it wasn't that –"The graduate who tries in the trial to pin this murder on Reiji is the culprit!"-

-"And if nobody does that?"- Akane asked. Yukio lowered his arm and laughed sheepishly.

-"Heheh…if nobody does that then I'm screwed. That's why we should do a plan B"-

-"Got something in mind?"- Akane asked, starting to get as relaxed as Yukio. It was nice to have somebody who appeared to know what he was doing. Yukio stood up.

-"We're going to check some bedrooms. That's my plan. We request them access and investigate. Those who refuse are also marked suspicious"-

-"Their rooms? Do you think we'll really find something?"- The Chemist asked, unsure.

-"There has been four murders and nobody thought about doing it. If I were a culprit, I'd have hidden something in my room, knowing the chances of it being found are low"-

-"But what about the trash compactor? Has anybody checked it yet?"-

Yukio thought for a moment. –"I don't know. I don't think there will be enough time for us to check the bedrooms and the trash compactor unless…unless we split"- the Assistant passed Akane an ID –"You check the bedrooms. Besides, people here trust you. I'm sure you'd have no problem getting them to cooperate. This is Reiji's ID. If he's the one who created the slingshot then maybe there could be something useful in his room. I'll go to the compactor now. See you later, Akane-chan"- and with that, Yukio left the cafeteria.

-"Checking the bedrooms…about time it happened"- Matsukaze commented. Akane ignored him, instead noticing that he was the only mental image around. She was about to say something, but at the end decided that asking about them would only bring the same answer 'You're healing fast, Ogata-san'.

 _Let's hope I find something good. Here we go…_ she thought while she left the cafeteria to look for other graduates.


	34. Chapter 5 - Ignorance is Bliss - Abnormal Days II

Akane stood in the hallway to the bedrooms, unsure where to start. She didn't want to enter alone into Reiji's bedroom, she was afraid that the SHSL Despair would be hiding under the bed or something, very alive. She knew that it was a very stupid and irrational fear, but that didn't help.

-"Why so pensive, Ogata-san?"-

Curtis had approached while she stood in the hallway. The Chemist decided to start with him. She had nothing linking him to the murder, but at least it could work as 'practice'. –"I'd like to check bedrooms for evidence. Would you mind if I start with you?"- _Should be less polite, more 'I'm the boss do what I want'_

-"Sure, I suppose. Got something specific in mind?"- He passed his ID on the machine to the side of his door, and completely opened the door.

-"Anything that works"- and with that, she entered Curtis' bedroom. She looked around to see if anything jumped at her at first glance. The only thing she considered curious was that nothing around her hinted to Curtis' caving into some sort of artistic mood at any point. She had expected canvases, paintings, puddles of paint, but the room was bare excepting the common furniture. –"I'm checking that"- Akane pointed at the desk. There was nothing on it, but the drawers could have something related.

Curtis wasn't exactly pleased to hear that. –"I'd rather if you didn't"- he said, but didn't make an effort to stop her. Akane opened the drawer. Nothing artistic inside. Instead, there was a stack of envelopes. She took one, and examined it. There was a logo on it. For some reason the envelope was very familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint where she had seen it –"Isn't that the Future Foundation logo?"-

-"It is. I found these here in the shelter"- he said.

-"Where, exactly?"-

Curtis took a moment before replying. The hesitance was noticeable enough for Akane to look at his eyes. –"M-Monobear's office. That's where. I found them during the second investigation"- Something in Curtis' tone hinted tension, but his eyes stayed glassy and stoic. Akane nodded, and opened another drawer. There was clay in it, along with several tubes filled with some sort of paint. There was also a notebook.

-"I had no idea your specialty was sculpting, Curtis-kun"-

-"It isn't. Those are for…restoring paintings. I do make some mistakes in my works, so I use that to cover them"-

 _There's something fishy going on here…_ She took the notebook and opened it in a random page, but then Curtis snatched it from her hands.

-"That's private!"- He screamed, before realizing that he had overreacted. The Chemist stared at him, dumbfounded, until he continued –"You see, this is…my journal of work. There are secret things in here"- Akane didn't change expression. Instead she nodded and thanked Curtis for allowing her to check his room. The Artist asked her to leave, which she did, hiding what she had taken from the journal. Once she was out of the bedroom and was sure Curtis wasn't going to come out, she unfolded the piece of paper.

_…What the hell is this?_

The paper had various annotations about Yukio's face, and was extremely detailed, as well. It was as if Curtis had measured Yukio's face with a ruler or something. _These aren't mere sketches. Does Yukio know about this?_

**Curtis' Annotations**

_A piece of paper with measurements and details about Yukio's face. Written and drawn by Curtis_

For a moment Akane considered talking to Yukio about that in that very moment, but decided to do it later. It wasn't like there was much time right now.

The next person she decided to check was Kudo. She found him on the Lounge, with one of the books from the Library. _Here we are doing our best to investigate and the rest are lazing around_ –"Kudo-kun? Could I check your room?"-

The Philanthropist raised his eyebrows at the unexpected request. –"Uh, sure, I guess"-. He led Akane to his bedroom door, and opened it. He was about to enter when Akane stopped him.

-"Do you mind if I enter alone? I…I think it's better that way"- she said, doubting that Kudo was going to accept it. However Kudo shrugged and signaled inside.

-"I have nothing to hide, go ahead"-

Kudo's bedroom was decorated with photographs of him in different places and with different people. In all of them the people with Kudo were looking at him as if he were some kind of god, while he always brandished the same beatific smile. Knowing how Kudo must have felt in those moments, partly because he surely was high of whatever odd biological anomaly caused it when he did something good, Akane couldn't avoid feeling uncomfortable.

Other than that, the room was normal. The desk had a few writings on it. Hoping that Kudo wasn't going to mind, she stealthily read a few. They seemed to be texts about the other graduates and him. –"Heheh…I hope you don't judge me for that…"-

-"For what?"-

-"I like to write about the people I know. Stories, mostly…just slices-of-life type of stories"- he said sheepishly from the entrance.

Akane smiled, reading a small snippet about Ginchiyo and Toyogushi apparently having a tea party in the lounge with Matsukaze reenacting some of his cases. –"It's nicely written, although I can't imagine Matsukaze-kun being so…theathrical"-

-"I didn't know him well enough when I wrote that, hahaha"- Akane promised herself that she'd ask Kudo for all his stories when it was all over. They were actually decent. In better mood, Akane opened the drawer and found something that instantly made her temporal joy vanish. Carefully she took out a toolbox, and put it on the desk. –"Is this yours, Kudo-kun?"-

-"What the heck…I have never seen that before!"- Kudo entered, looking at the toolbox. Akane opened it and found tools with the same colors and general shapes than the knife found on the mechanism in the pantry.

-"That's an exact match. Kudo-kun owns the knife"- Matsukaze stated before vanishing again.

-"Ogata-san, that isn't mine. I…I really have no idea how that got in there"- Kudo tried to explain, but Akane's expression didn't help him to calm down.

-"I see. Either way, that's all I needed to see for now"- she put the toolbox back in the drawer.

**Kudo's Toolbox**

_A toolbox found in Kudo's bedroom. Has an exact match with the knife found in the pantry_

**Custom Knife (Update)**

_A knife, part of the slingshot mechanism, most likely to cut whatever object ties the handle to the rest of the mechanism. It came from Kudo's toolbox_

Akane turned around to leave, when she saw something under the bed. She slowly approached and crouched, until she fully saw what it was. She grabbed the object, this time choosing not to get Kudo's attention. It didn't work as intended. –"Did you find something down there, Ogata-san?"-

-"Nothing. It was a bunch of dust"- she said, putting the key and the other object in her pocket.

**Pantry Key (Update)**

_The key to the pantry, presumably under Chiba's ownership since the investigation of the fourth murder. Before that it was in Reiji's ownership. Found in Kudo's bedroom, under the bed_

Akane left the bedroom before Kudo could see he darkened expression. She was starting to have serious suspicions about Kudo. The excuse of 'I had never seen that' was a really old one, and almost never was true. And finding the key under the bed was another clue against him. But what was the other object? The Chemist walked to the lounge, sat on the edge of the fountain and examined the object. It didn't take long before she recognized it.

-"This is one of Monobear's claws!"- She couldn't avoid exclaiming, very surprised.

**Claw**

_One of Monobear's claws. It can open anything that needs an ID or special authentication. Found under Kudo's bed_

The claw was the last thing she expected to find in anybody's room. She tried to remember who had the claw after the second investigation, but she couldn't remember. Was it Kudo? Most likely, judging by it being in his room. Remembering that there wasn't a lot of time to stand around thinking, she stood up and searched for another one of the graduates. _Yamaguchi's room could be next_

But after searching in the whole shelter, she couldn't find in the shelter. Not even in her room, apparently. Either she managed to walk into places after Akane left them, or she was avoiding her. At least in her search she stumbled upon another friend. –"Toyogushi-kun, please let me examine your bedroom"- she ordered, more sure of herself now.

-"…That was unexpected. And bossy, to boot"- he said, crossing his arms. Akane cringed, feeling her tone had been way too rough.

-"I-I-I'm sorry, Toyogushi-kun, but may I check your room? It's for the investigation…"-

-"Sure, here"- he passed Akane his ID –"I hope you don't mind doing it alone, but I'm doing something so…"-

Akane reassured him that it was fine, and left to his bedroom. After passing the ID through the identification machine and entering, her eyes were attracted to the motorcycle standing in middle of the room. It was identical to the one found in the Hallway Museum, except that this one did have engines.

Curious, she approached and examined it, finding curious that it was so well taken care of. –"Of all things in the bedrooms this must be the most unusual. A motorcycle!"- Ginchiyo commented. Akane couldn't agree more.

When she considered she had wasted enough time looking at the motorcycle, she focused on the rest of the room. The desk and the drawers had nothing worthwhile besides a few oil stains and packs of chewing gum. Nothing under the bed or in the closet. The room had nothing worthwhile to the investigation.

However in her search she found a photo album. Sitting on the bed and hoping that it didn't contain anything too personal, she started browsing it. She smiled when she saw what practically was a chronicle of Toyogushi's life. There he was as a young kid, standing on the ceiling of a school, going around with a bike, and doing all sort of simple tricks. Then there he was older in what seemed like a movie set, with a lot of people. Her eyes narrowed when she recognized one of the faces.

-"Ginchiyo-san?"-

In one of the sets Toyogushi and Ginchiyo, barely out of their teenagers phase, were smiling to the camera while they worked on a ramp, obviously for some sort of movie, possibly of Ginchiyo's authorship. _They never commented they knew each other…neither did and the twins…but Monobear had said the only memories that were removed were of one week and that it was spent here in the shelter or something like that._

_…Did he lie?_

Akane took the photo from the album and put it in her pocket.

**Toyogushi's Photography (1)**

_A photography depicting Toyogushi and Ginchiyo in a movie set_

While she thought about what the photography could mean, she kept barely looking at the pages, until she was stopped by Sawashiro, pointing to another one of the photos. –"Ogata-san, look!"- Akane looked at the point Sawashiro was showing her. Toyogushi was with his motorcycle, apparently fixing something. Near him on the floor was a toolbox she had seen less than half an hour ago.

**Toyogushi's Photography (2)**

_A photography depicting Toyogushi working on his motorcycle. Kudo's toolbox can be seen_

-"Does that mean Kudo was around when the photo was taken?"- Sawashiro wondered. Akane shook her head, unsure.

-"…I don't think that's what this photo means. I think I'm finally starting to glimpse how Chiba-san's murder went…"- and she took that photo as well.

After a quick browsing of the rest of the album, without finding something useful, she put it back in its place and exited Toyogushi's bedroom.

Looking at her clock, Akane supposed she was running out of time to investigate, but there were still several rooms to check. However a new idea passed through her head: what if Chiba's room had something that could clue to who summoned her to the cafeteria at that hour? _It is worth a try_

Remembering that Curtis had said Chiba had her ID in her pocket, she returned to the cafeteria and retrieved it from the dead body, all the time apologizing Chiba for the intrusion. In a moment she was back into the bedroom hall, opening the door to the new place to investigate.

Chiba's room was just like she had imagined it. A, huge map of Japan with a multitude of little pins was covering one of the walls. Akane imagined Chiba spending lots of time putting each one, each representing something important for whatever plan she was creating. A row of boots near the bed, and assorted machines around were the rest of the objects that surely were given by Monobear to Chiba.

Akane took her time to check every place where she supposed some sort of note could be hidden, but she found nothing of the sort. _I suppose this means the culprit knocked on her door and woke her up_

But in the drawers she found something she had already seen a while ago. Just like Curtis, Chiba had a stack of envelopes with the Future Foundation's logo. Once again she felt like she should remember something important related to them, but nothing came to her head. However she noticed one difference between Curtis' envelopes and Chiba's envelopes: some of the ones Akane was seeing right now had something in them. She took the one at the top and read the content.

"Toyogushi-kun:

Ready your motorcycle in the hallway leading to the entrance of the shelter. Take Yukio with you. Both of you should procure some sort of blunt weapon you can defend yourself with in case the people at the other side has ill intentions. If the worst scenario happens (graduates dying), please resort to the Emergency plan below"

Under that was a detailed plan that resorted to most of the graduates locking themselves in different rooms while Toyogushi and Yukio used their motorcycle to run through the streets of the city to an address Chiba included.

-"These must be the plans Chiba-san was working on…she never delivered them. We should, though"-

**Chiba's Strategies**

_A bunch of envelopes each containing a plan for everybody to follow once the entrance to the shelter is opened by external forces._

After reading her copy of the strategy, apparently her role was reuniting some provisions for the journey outside and continue being Chiba's second-in-charge person, she took all the envelopes out, finding a group of sheets of paper in the bottom of the drawer. She took out, and was surprised to find a list of the belongings each graduate had in the shelter.

She read every single object she had; being completely sure she never said a word to Chiba about them. Everything was true, to the smallest detail.

_What the hell, Chiba-san?!_

**List of Belongings**

_A list of items and objects owned by each graduate, dead and alive. Chiba had these lists_

Akane was growing increasingly antsier with each thing she found in the rooms. It was as if everybody except her had a secret. Or…could it be that she had some too? The memories of that week Monobear took were starting to get her anxious as well. And not only that, what if the bear took more memories than that?

She was starting to see how effective the motive was.

With those thoughts in mind, she returned to the bedroom hall, just in time for Yukio to stroll in. –"Akane-chan! I finished with the trash compactor"- he shouted, approaching with a bundle of what looked like paper.

-"Found something?"-

-"…Nothing related to the murder, I think. But I did find something interesting. I took the chance to check all the trash there was, that's why I was away for so long. And deep in that trash I found these"- Yukio passed Akane the bundle. Indeed, it was a lot of crumpled paper. She took a piece out and noticed that it was a Future Foundation envelope.

-"No way…"- she also found that inside it there was a letter. She took it out and read aloud. -"Mister Masaru Miyata, Super High School Level CEO.

You have been selected to be part of an important project called 'Renovation'. You'll be gathered along with other Hope's Peak graduates, and along with us, the Future Foundation, we'll set the world straight once again.

If you choose to collaborate with us, you may meet us on Tuesday, April 20th, on the Downtown Subway Station. You'll find a door marked with our logo. That is the door to our underground shelter, especially tailored to meet any necessities you and your partners will have.

If you choose not to collaborate with us, you may continue with your daily life.

Thank you for your attention.

Masamune Toyotomi, Committee for a Better Tomorrow, Future Foundation"-

Yukio listened to each word, nodding with each paragraph. Once Akane was done, she almost let the letter fall from her hands out of sheer impression. –"…Does this mean that the Future Foundation are the ones who imprisoned us?"-

-"This does seem to point to that. Either the Future Foundation as a whole did it, or one or more of their members are responsible for it. But the point is the same: there's some relation between this game and the Future Foundation"-

-"I must have received one of these letters too, why don't I remember anything about that?"-

-"Monobear must have taken that out to hide their involvement in the game. Possibly these letters are included in the week that was deleted"- the Assistant deduced. Akane started to open another envelope, but Yukio stopped her –"I think we should leave that for later. We still have a murder and a trial to go through. What have you found in the bedrooms?"-

Akane narrated to Yukio how she had searched in several bedrooms, and showed him the annotations Curtis had done about his face. Yukio didn't seem surprised by the notes. –"Yeah…he had asked me to stay still while he measured my face. I supposed it was to make a portrait of me or something"-

-"With what materials? I saw nothing of the sort, although I did see some paint tubes…but no brushes, canvas or anything"-

-"He does have a brush with him all the time"- Yukio pointed. Akane acknowledged that, but continued.

-"Doesn't matter! I'm sure that there's something odd going on with Curtis-kun. There's also the matter of the envelopes he had, just like the ones you found in the trash"-

-"And Chiba-san had those too, then…both Curtis-kun and Chiba-san are linked. If I had to guess that marks them as members of the Future Foundation"- Yukio sentenced. Akane hoped that wasn't the case.

_Would that mean that…Chiba-san and Curtis-kun could be Masterminds together? Or…one of them?_

-"There being more than one Mastermind could actually be a good point. This shelter and everything inside must have come from somewhere, and if there's more than one person involved then it wouldn't be as hard as it sounds"- the Assistant continued, bringing another valid point.

**Future Foundation Envelopes**

_A bunch of envelopes marked with the Future Foundation logo. Both Curtis and Chiba had them in their bedrooms. Curtis claimed to have found his in Monobear's Office_

**Letters from the Future Foundation**

_The letters that summoned us all to the shelter. They're signed by one 'Masamune Toyotomi' Needs more investigation._

Yukio led Akane to his brother's bedroom, but continued speaking in the way –"And what's more, I'd bet everything I owned that Curtis-kun is faking his identity. Most likely he's this Masamune Toyotomi guy. We should have seen it earlier"- he opened the door with disdain –"A guy with no records, not a glimpse of he really being an Artist, bad excuses all along and with a foreign name, to boot. The red flags were there"-

-"But why did he fake his identity, then? Who is he?"-

-"That, I don't know. But we should confront him. If not in the investigation, then in the trial. Now let's focus here!"-

Reiji's room was identical to Yukio's room, from what Akane remembered. Or at least it would be if it weren't for the lack of statue. However near the place where Akane supposed it would be there was a notebook. She picked it up and read it.

-"Yukio-kun, do you know if Reiji had a diary of sorts?"-

-"He did like to record his life, since we were kids"-

-"Found it"- she sat on the bed to pry into Reiji's writings while Yukio prodded around the bedroom. Knowing that they didn't have long, she went straight to the last pages and found the point when they got to the shelter. She started reading aloud

_April 20th_

_We arrived to the shelter. Toyotomi reunited us in the Conference Room and explained our reasons to be here. They clearly don't know a single fact about us, or I wouldn't have been invited, hahahaha!_

-"Tacky. This nutcase even wrote evil laughs"- Akane commented, rolling her eyes. Yukio didn't reply. Instead he had closed his eyes and was listening carefully what Akane was reading.

_April 23th_

_It has been several days and only today they started working. As expected: the objective is to kill the SHSL Despair. That Chiba woman has done a huge plan that will extend to whole Japan_

_Mooooooooooooooooooorons! Judging by my presence I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of SHSL Despairs pretended to be innocent people and they get the Future Foundation's protection._

Reiji continued jeering at the group, confirming over and over that apparently the objective to gather everybody in the shelter was to form some sort of plan against SHSL Despair. Finally Akane reached a point where Reiji's tone changed.

_April…whatever_

_I don't know what day today is. I can't remember a thing from the last week, but my diary states stuff has happened. Today hasn't been the first day in the shelter, yet…it feels like it really is. I'm not sure how or what happened, but I do think it was because our memories were erased. And it's great!_

_Only Enoshima-sensei and her followers could have access to the technology needed. SHSL Despair is planning something big right here, in this shelter. I have no idea what it is, but I'm going to inflict all the despair I can. In the name of Junko Enoshima._

-"Wow. He really is a brainwashed follower of that madwoman"- Akane said. Yukio still didn't reply. –"Looks like from this point the date doesn't exist, but it isn't that big of a deal.

Akane read the parts that seemed important to know. The more she read, the more she was horrified by the extent of Reiji's involvement in almost all the murders in the shelter.

_Saitou and I talked today, a while after after the first motive. He's slave to his own despair now. It was rather easy; he was already in a pitiful state, hahaha! He'll kill soon, I know it._

_I figure that if the killer gets caught but not the person who planned it, then the second will be named the true culprit. Then I'll be out of here quickly. I'll pass Saitou a plan to kill the Medium and let everybody else die in this hole when Saitou gets pinned as the real culprit, I'm getting out of here. SHSL Despair is waiting for me!_

_That chemist girl, Ogata, was looking for my brother. She seemed anxious. It's possible she plans to kill Yukio, so I warned her that I'd point her as the culprit if she did. That should be enough. I can't let anybody else other than Saitou to kill_

_Saitou is an idiot. He died._

_My plans crumbled. Is this what Enoshima-sensei felt before her death when her plans failed? I now understand why Tsumiki said she had died with a smile._

_It's delicious_

_Second motive was announced, I need a new target to break down. I think I should go for Ogata. I think I have found her weak point; it'll be matter of pressing it until she falls._

-"So that's why he talked to me about how nobody was like they seemed. He was trying to make me despair"- Akane said. To her side, Sawashiro smiled.

-"And he wasn't capable…although to be fair, he only tried once before Matsukaze-kun died"-

_Third motive and this one will work in my advantage. Ginchiyo did the same I did to Yukio. I'll be able to force her to kill in my name. I'll be out of this shelter before tomorrow ends_

_I have been imprisoned but that doesn't mean I'll be stopped. I'm going to kill. I have left a trap in the pantry. There's no way it'll be linked to me. Now I only need a target for it. Leaving the key around so the target finds it should be enough, but I don't know who could be the best choice._

_But this would all be easier if I could stroll around without anybody noticing. I should get Yukio to trade places with me. If the opportunity presents itself I'll take it._

From that point there were no more entries. –"It stops here, Yukio-kun. There's nothing else"-

-"I think yesterday Reiji came to write that. This diary must have been hidden in the statue, and when he tried to put it in it again, the statue fell and did all that noise"-

-"I think only the last part is useful"- Akane said, transcribing what Reiji had written.

**Transcription from Reiji's Diary**

" _I have been imprisoned but that doesn't mean I'll be stopped. I'm going to kill. I have left a trap in the pantry. There's no way it'll be linked to me. Now I only need a target for it. Leaving the key around so the target finds it should be enough, but I don't know who could be the best choice._

_But this would all be easier if I could stroll around without anybody noticing. I should get Yukio to trade places with me. If the opportunity presents itself I'll take it"_

Akane closed the diary, and stood up. –"I think it's enough. We should get out of here"-

-"Wait…"- Hesitant, the Assistant took the diary –"…I think that I'll finally know…"- his words trailed off while he flipped the pages as fast as he could, looking for the part that would answer the question he anxiously had asked to himself so many times. He finally found it and read it.

_November 28th_

_Yukio, how dense! You really did get in trouble, but you can't run from it. I…I'm not sure how to proceed, but hopefully I won't end digging a deeper grave for him. He asked me to impersonate him in the Hope's Peak Council, but that doesn't seem correct to me. I'm sure that they'd be more understanding if he said his mistakes himself, but…I suppose it's up to me now. I don't intend to do a charade. I'm the Law Assistant, but that doesn't mean I have to blindly follow orders._

_I'll do my best, Yukio, don't worry. It'll all go okay!_

_November 30th_

_I have been appointed as Yukio's replacement, maybe because I was honest and upfront about the whole matter. Yukio was proud of me when I told him it. It all did end well!_

_January 18th_

_The conflicts between the Reserve Course and the main Hope's Peak are starting to get worrisome. Leaving that aside, today I met a student whom I suspect could be linked to the antsy state of the Reserve Course. Her name is Junko Enoshima, and apparently she's some sort of Fashion Girl. She knew a surprising amount of information about me, no idea how she got it, but right after that she said that I'm…inferior. I don't know what she means, but I'm not inferior._

_January 20th_

_I have been tempted to talk with Yukio. Junko continues asserting that I'm considered inferior by my own brother and family. I have done my best to ignore her, but she has some rather…strong arguments. Just because I'm the Assistant doesn't mean I'm inferior, right? Yukio loves me and considers me his equal._

_But I can't talk to him directly about this. I feel that I'd come as petty and childish. I'm not sure what to do._

_January 24th_

_Not only my family looks down on me. Everybody does._

_I got into the Council as a replacement to my brother. I was the second option. If they had wanted me to take part of it, then I'd have been asked in the first place. Enoshima-san showed me that. She is right._

_January 25th_

_All my accomplishments have happened because of Yukio. I'm merely his shadow. I can't continue being his shadow. I must get out and show that I'm not inferior. I'm not inferior, Yukio! Enoshima-san says there's a way for me to show my potential. I must find out more._

_January 27th_

_Enoshima-sensei has revealed her plan to me. It's finally time for me to show who I am. I'm not inferior. I'm above everybody else. All that matters is that everybody is under my heel, and with Enoshima-sensei's help I won't fail._

_I'm not inferior anymore!_

Yukio closed the diary, forlorn. The Chemist noticed that his mood had dampened significantly. –"Yukio-kun, are you okay?"-

-"I'm not okay. At the end…looks like I'm the one to blame for Reiji's despair"- he replied.

-"It isn't your fault, Yukio-kun. It's Enoshima's fault. It's all her. Nobody viewed him as inferior, it all was lies Enoshima created to trap him"-

Yukio didn't accept Akane's words. –"If I had the integrity to accept my mistakes and face the consequences instead of cowardly sending my brother in my place then he wouldn't have even been in contact with that bitch, in the first place! It all happened because I was too cowardly to deal with what I did wrong!"- His voice was straining now. When Akane approached, he rudely pushed her aside and left the room, taking the diary with him. The Chemist stood there, surprised by how fast Yukio almost broke down.

-"Ignorance is bliss, they say"- a new voice said, even if Akane knew it was impossible. At least, until she remembered that her mind loved to remind her of the dead graduates. Now a mental image of Chiba had appeared –"And he's right, to an extent. Reiji wouldn't have fallen into Enoshima's claws if he had accepted his mistakes"-

-"I don't need to talk about this"-

-"Oh, you don't. But it's important Yukio grieves for what he did. You'll see him in the trial, but before it, make sure he's okay. I'd say it won't be long before it starts"-

Akane sighed and got to the bedroom hallway. The truth is that she didn't feel in mood to continue checking bedrooms. She had too many things in her head to add even more. In an effort to organize her thoughts, she paced around the shelter, until she somehow found herself in the fifth section.

She looked into the distance. Far at the end, she could see the strange door that could be an exit, and quickly remembered the expositions. That's when she finally realized what was bothering her. _There should be fifteen stands. Sakurai-kun wouldn't have one, since he entered due to mere luck, but then why are there only fourteen?_

To make sure that she was right, Akane browsed again each part of the museum. She was right, and what was more, she had managed to deduce which one was missing. There was also the matter of the face on the wall. It was obvious it belonged to one of the graduates, and she had a very good idea whose it was.

**Hallway Museum**

_A museum depicting what achievement got us into Hope's Peak. Kudo and Curtis' expositions are missing._

**Face on the Wall**

_A very strange mask, pinned to the wall. Done with amazing technique and disturbing realism_

Despite the sudden revelation, Akane didn't have long to think about it, as an announcement ringed through the speakers.

-"There was enough time, bastards! Time to get the show on the road once and for all! Meet in the trial room"-

The Chemish sighed, steeling herself for the trial to come. The lobby before the trial room already had most of the other graduates. Yamaguchi approached, nervous –"I couldn't find much…got any idea of who is the culprit?"-

-"I do"- Akane replied. The Fashion Designer's face showed joy, but then changed into worry again.

-"But even if we catch the culprit we'll all starve to death. We don't have a bright future"-

Akane groaned, keeping herself from roaring something on Yamaguchi's face –"What do I have to do to cheer you all up? We can't mope around hopelessly like this!"-

-"…to be honest? I think the only thing that would raise our spirits would be to at least know who the Mastermind is, but…are there even clues about that?"-

-"There are"- Akane said, confident. Yamaguchi lifted her eyebrows

-"But then when would we argue about that?"-

_It's time. No I'll make my first official statement as the new leader_

-"Today. Whether it's in middle of this trial or after it, we'll point our fingers towards the Mastermind. I won't let the day end without us knowing the identity of the Mastermind"-

Yamaguchi was impressed at Akane's determination. She applauded it, glad to have somebody with enough spirit to continue ahead –"Thank you, Ogata-san. Your presence is a big help. With you, it'll be possible"- she said before entering.

Akane let everybody else enter before once again remembering every piece of evidence, and decided to divide it in two categories, just in case, at least to make it easier to be organized and not to get confused.

**List of Evidence about the Fifth Murder**

Stake – Monobear File #5 – Missing Memories – Wounds – Hair Chopsticks – Contraption in the Pantry – Pantry Key – Ribbons – Cut Plastic Bags – Custom Knife – Chewing Gum – Cafeteria Disaster – Hole on the Wall – Workshop Knife – Kudo's Toolbox – Claw – Toyogushi's Photography (2) – Transcription from Reiji's Diary

**List of Evidence about the Mastermind (so far)**

Missing Memories – Piece of Paper – Curtis' Annotations – Toyogushi's Photography (1) – Chiba's Strategies – List of Belongings – Future Foundation Envelopes – Letters from the Future Foundation – Hallway Museum – Face on the Wall

Once Akane was done, she entered the trial room. However the trial didn't start right away, as Yukio hadn't arrived yet. Monobear tapped his foot impatiently, pretending to look at a clock. –"How inconsiderate of him"-

-"He didn't get hurt again, did he?"- Kudo asked

-"No, he…just has a lot to think about"- Akane replied, just when Yukio entered. He still looked affected by the revelation in Reiji's diary. The Assistant noticed the worried glances from people, so he muttered something along the lines of 'I'm fine, let's get this over with'

-"Finally. Now that Yukio-kun had the kindness of sharing his gracious presence with us, let's start the fifth trial!"- Monobear announced.


	35. Chapter 5 - Ignorance is Bliss - Trial I

-"Okay, let's see…Chiba-san, killed today in the early hours with that stake. Any first thoughts, everybody?"- Yukio asked. Toyogushi lifted his hand

-"I'd say there was a fight"- he theorized –"Not merely a struggle, I mean a blown-out fight. Chiba-san can't have fallen that easily"-

-"Then somebody with strength would have been able to subdue her, eh?"- Yamaguchi said. The Stuntsman shook his head

-"Not necessarily. I think the culprit won thanks to strategy instead of strength. I think we should focus on those here who'd be able to outsmart Chiba-san"-

-"Well, that was quick"- Yukio commented –"Certainly a quick theory, buddy"-

-"I had time to think about it. I have a suspect already"-

-"That reminds me! Does anybody here have a suspect?"- Yukio asked –"No matter how outlandish it could seem, does anybody have a name you'd like to share?"- When nobody said a thing, the Assistant continued prodding –"Anything! Come on!"-

-"Well…I'm not completely sure, but I suspect Kudo-kun"- Toyogushi said. Yukio frowned, that wasn't the answer he had expected.

-"Kudo-kun? Why's that?"-

-"Yeah, why? I haven't done anything"- Kudo asked as well, pale.

The Stuntsman seemed uncomfortable, and took a minute before replying –"Eeeeeh…it's merely a hunch, you see. I mean, I don't see anybody else being able to outsmart Chiba-san"-

-"That's some flimsy logic"- Yukio chastised –"Unless there's evidence pointing towards Kudo-kun, then we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Toyogushi sighed and nodded, accepting it. However Curtis leaned forward.

-"Excuse me if I ask, Ogata-san, but did you examine Kudo-kun's bedroom, by chance?"-

Akane, who had been immersed in her own thoughts, jerked her head up when she heard her name. –"Uh, what?"- Curtis repeated his question. Akane nodded. –"Oh, right. I did find some stuff. I found a toolbox with tools of the same set than the knife that was part of the slingshot"-

-"The slingshot in the pantry? How's that related to the murder?"- Yukio pretended to not to know a thing, as a way to beckon Akane to explain it. Akane understood, and got ready to explain.

-"It's simple. The contraption in the pantry was used to…"-

* * *

…deliver the fatal blow to Chiba

…attract Chiba to the cafeteria

…catch our attention

…create red herrings

* * *

**…deliver the fatal blow to Chiba**

* * *

-"…to kill Chiba-san. It isn't like the culprit grabbed the stake and stabbed Chiba-san with their own hands"-

-"Wait, what? So the contraption in the pantry was used to launch the stake to Chiba's chest?"- Hikasa asked, trying to understand the situation.

-"It does seem like that"- Kudo replied –"But I still have nothing to do with it!"-

-"Ogata-san, how exactly was the knife used?"- Yamaguchi asked, doing a gesture of concentration. Akane played with her hair, ordering her thoughts.

-"Basically the slingshot was rigged to the door handle of the pantry using thread-like objects, tensing whatever elastic object held the stake. When the door was opened, a part of the mechanism activated, cutting the thread part rigged to the door, causing the stake to be launched into the graduate's chest"-

-"So that means that the knife found in the mechanism, Kudo-kun's knife, was part fo the murder weapon itself. I think that's a clear indicator of Kudo's involvement in the murder"- Toyogushi sentenced. The Philanthropist made frantic gestures with his hands, trying to deny it.

-"No! That knife isn't mine. I swear, it's the first time I see it"-

-"Toyogushi-kun, we can't instantly point at Kudo's supposed guilt so early in the trial"- Akane scolded. The Stuntsman stopped, clearly mulling something in his head.

-"Alright, let's see what we can discuss, then…"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Wounds / Workshop Knife / Pantry Key / Hair Chopsticks / Transcription from Reiji's Diary_

* * *

OGATA: The slingshot must have been **created before today**

OGATA: But who was responsible for creating it? Anybody knows?

YAMAGUCHI: It's kind of a longshot but…

YAMAGUCHI: What if the **_Mastermind_** did it?

TOYOGUSHI: It must have been **_Kudo_**

TOYOGUSHI: It was his knife, after all

TOYOGUSHI: **No other blade** could have been used

YUKIO: Who had the key to the pantry, again?

YUKIO: That person would be likely to be the culprit

HIKASA: Nobody here had that key. Chiba-san did.

HIKASA: Are you suggesting **_Chiba_** -san built that thing?

CURTIS: We can't progress unless we define who the creator was

CURTIS: There must be **a clue somewhere in the slingshot**!

* * *

Akane thought for a moment. She had wanted to pursue the same possibility Yukio had suggested earlier, that the graduate to suggest Reiji was guilty for the murder was the real culprit. However nobody fell into the trap, even suggesting that Chiba had been the one to make that contraption. Yukio seemed disappointed to see that nobody fell into the trap. The Chemist, knowing that staying on that point would mean no progress, decided to go on a tangent.

-"That's wrong, Toyogushi-kun. There's another blade that could have been used, as it's of the same type and size than Kudo's knife"-

-"Oh, true"- Yukio piped up, and explained his findings in the Workshop. Everybody listened to the end. –"And yeah, I confirm that it could be possible for that knife to have been used instead"-

-"Then why was it in the Workshop? If it was found over there then I find it hard to believe it has any relation to the murder"- Curtis argued, saying what seemed to be the general opinion, including Akane's. Yukio threw his arms up in exasperation.

-"Not you guys too! Look, you can't deny that it could be possible the knife was replaced"-

-"We actually can. I do admit that the way it was found is somewhat suspicious, but that's all there's. I'd find it more likely that it was Kudo's knife"- Hikasa intervened. Yukio facepalmed, frustrated.

-"Sorry Yukio-kun, but I do agree with them. It's somewhat farfetched to think your scenario is likely"- Toyogushi said –"So that settles it: the knife used on the slingshot was Kudo's knife. I think that marks him as the creator of the contraption"-

-"Hey, first than all, that isn't my knife, darn it to heck. Second, it doesn't necessarily mean it was me who created it. Think about it"- and then he said the words Akane and Yukio had been waiting all along –"Reiji had the key the whole time until his death. It's clear he was the one who created the slingshot that killed Chiba!"-

Yukio's eyes acquired a dangerous glint. He hit his podium with his hands, and looked at Kudo. –"You! You're the one who killed Chiba-san! Only the culprit would try to blame everything on Reiji"-

-"B-B-But it's obvious he did build the slingshot!"- Kudo defended himself. Yukio nodded.

-"I don't deny he did. We even have a confession from him. But everything in the cafeteria indicates things aren't as straightforward as that. Claiming that Reiji is the culprit can be only the result of a huge amount of stupidity, or the culprit trying to mislead us"-

Kudo stammered, trying to find a way to stop the suspicions on him –"No, I swear it, I'm not the culprit. I had no reason to kill Chiba-san. She was a dedicated and sweet woman to everybody here; nobody here had a reason to kill her!"-

-"Maybe that was true before, but the circumstances has changed"- Hikasa stated. Kudo looked at him as if he had grown an arm in middle of his chest.

-"What the heck are you talking about?!"-

-"Hikasa-kun is right. Something important changed, and everybody here knows that. Allow me to jog your memory"- Akane said.

* * *

Stake

Monobear File #5

Missing Memories

Wounds

Hair Chopsticks

Contraption in the Pantry

Pantry Key

Ribbons

Cut Plastic Bags

Custom Knife

Chewing Gum

Cafeteria Disaster

Hole on the Wall

Workshop Knife

Kudo's Toolbox

Claw

Toyogushi's Photography (2)

Transcription from Reiji's Diary

* * *

**Missing Memories**

* * *

-"Monobear's motive was to restore our memories from the week we apparently spent here in the shelter. It's…It's possible that something that happened during that week made the culprit kill Chiba-san"-

-"But what could Chiba-san had done that would warrant somebody killing her? I find it hard to imagine she'd do anything bad"- Yukio said

-"We were doubting it yesterday…she being the main suspect for Reiji's murder, and all that"- Curtis pointed, scowling.

-"It doesn't matter if she did something or not. What matters is that I'm getting accused here. Do you all think I'd really kill somebody?"- Kudo asked, trying to hold back tears. Akane looked at him carefully, and got to the conclusion that Kudo was pretending. _This doesn't look sincere, at all_

-"Obviously we do"- Yamaguchi crossed her arms, stern. Kudo gritted his teeth

-"Sure, let's all gang on the philanthropist. Nobody ever respects me. It has always been the same thing, all my life"-

-"Can you stop the wounded gazelle act, please? You're very bad at it"- Toyogushi said with contempt. Kudo looked down for a while. Nobody said a thing, until he lifted his head. There was no trace of any tears or similar. It was as if he had never been about to cry. His tone when he talked wasn't strained or whiny anymore, either.

-"Whatever. I'm not going to let this go this way"- he stepped off his podium, and walked to Akane. The Chemist couldn't avoid stepping back when she saw his expression. It was dark and uncaring. For a moment she wondered if she was going to attack her in front of everybody. However he gripped her podium, and growled: -"What do you have to say, Ogata-san? You're the leader. You lead us"-

-"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait…since when is she our leader?"- Yukio asked

-"She's the one we all trust, isn't she? We know she will only strive for the best for us all. Not to mention she had saved our collective asses…what, three times already?"- Kudo turned back again to face Akane –"So yeah. You tell me, Ogata-san: do you think I am the culprit?"-

-"But even if she thinks you're not the culprit that doesn't mean we'll back off"- Curtis retorted –"We're not a bunch of sheeps following the first person we see"-

-"You all jumped pretty quickly on the gun when Toyogushi-kun accused me"- Kudo argued back –"If that isn't sheepish behavior then I don't know what it is. Besides, we all have done it before! And wrongly, too"-

-"There has been other times when we as a group have taken the right decision. The accusation against Reiji in the third trial, for example!"- Yukio pointed

-"One correct instance compared against several other wrong ones. Add your accusations towards me to the second list"- and once again Kudo faced Akane –"Stop standing there! We need you to say what you think. Ogata-san, am I the culprit?"- He pressured, his face contorting into an anxious grin

-"Uuuuuuh…"- Akane shifted, uncomfortable. Kudo's expression was disturbing her –"I-I-I think it's way too early to say that…"-

_Kudo-kun did try to blame this on Reiji. That knife that came from the toolbox in his room was found in the slingshot, along with the pantry key._

_He is behaving very strange, and clearly shows distress towards being marked as the culprit._

_Having memories returned to him and really being the culprit would explain all that._

_Then why am I not convinced with him as the culprit?_

-"I personally think that we're missing something"- Sawashiro whispered to Akane. The Chemist nodded, agreeing with her subconscious.

-"Come on, Ogata-san, don't you remember what we talked about?"- Yukio asked, annoyed

-"What was that, Ogata-san? What is Yukio-kun talking about?"- Yamaguchi inquired, eyeing the Assistant with suspicion

-"Eeeeh…you see…Yukio-kun proposed that the graduate who tries to pin this on Reiji would be the culprit, because Reiji is an easy scapegoat"-

-"Is it even proven that Reiji had something to do with this? Just because he had the pantry key doesn't mean he assembled the slingshot"- the Fashion Designer pointed.

-"It's confirmed he did. We have this:"-

* * *

Stake

Monobear File #5

Missing Memories

Wounds

Hair Chopsticks

Contraption in the Pantry

Pantry Key

Ribbons

Cut Plastic Bags

Custom Knife

Chewing Gum

Cafeteria Disaster

Hole on the Wall

Workshop Knife

Kudo's Toolbox

Claw

Toyogushi's Photography (2)

Transcription from Reiji's Diary

* * *

**Transcription from Reiji's Diary**

* * *

-"We checked Reiji's bedroom and found his diary"- Akane announced

-"You invaded a dead dude's privacy?"- Hikasa asked, baffled. Yukio shrugged

-"He won't complain, but what we found is of the utmost importance: a confession stating he assembled the slingshot"- Yukio explained

-"Then what's wrong with Kudo-kun asserting that Reiji is the culprit here?"-

-"Here's my hypothesis: the culprit had knowledge of the slingshot, and planned to use it to kill somebody, Chiba-san being the unlucky chosen one, and then intended to frame it on Reiji. Kudo-kun's the only one who has tried doing that. Kudo-kun is the culprit!"-

-"Come on! If Reiji's the culprit then I'm not going to not to say it. I didn't kill Chiba-san!"- Kudo insisted, still near Akane.

-"This is all fine and dandy, but this raises a question…Monobear?"- Yamaguchi tried to get the bear's attention, who was currently dozing off, again. He really seemed to tend to sleep during the trials –"Monobear!"- She was successful in making him wake up

-"Eh? Eh?"- After yawning, or at least making yawning sounds, Monobear paid attention to Yamaguchi –"What? I was busy, you know! Dreams of salmon don't happen every day"-

-"Forget about the salmon and answer me this: If a victim is killed using a trap made by some other graduate, who'd be the culprit? The one who made the trap or the one who made the victim fall into the trap?"-

-"That's an easy one: the creator of the trap would be named the culprit!"- He answered. Yukio's face paled.

-"No, no, no. There must be something else. Isn't there a situation where somebody else would be the culprit?"- He asked with glaring anxiety.

Monobear thought for a moment –"Upupupu…if somebody else manipulated the trap, then that person would be the culprit. It depends on whose actions caused the death, even if it was a different person than the creator of the trap. Now let me sleep!"-

-"So that could mean that Reiji could really be considered the true culprit of the murder, if the slingshot was untouched"- Akane pointed. Kudo jumped in joy at the affirmation

-"Exactly! That's what happened! Nobody manipulated the slingshot. Reiji is the true culprit!"-

-"Not so fast, Kudo-kun"- Toyogushi said, confident –"Your actions led to your doom. You're the true culprit here"-

-"What do you mean, Toyogushi-kun?"- Curtis asked, playing absentmindedly with a brush on the podium

-"It's rather easy: Kudo-kun modified the slingshot, for some reason. That would make him the true culprit, as that would count as 'manipulating the trap'"-

-"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"- Akane asked slowly, realizing what the Stunstman surely meant

-"You're clever, Ogata-san, so you may have already realized what I'm thinking about"- Toyogushi hit his podium –"The knife! Kudo-kun modified the slingshot by putting the knife on it"-

-"So are you stating that Kudo's knife wasn't there from the beginning?"-

-"Errrr…"- for a moment Toyogushi fidgeted, sweating –"…yeeeeeeah, that's what I mean. He found out about the trap, so he modified it to, I don't know, improve it and make it more effective. He did that by putting his knife in place of the blade that was there before"-

-"The Workshop knife surely was the original blade"- Hikasa said –"If Kudo-kun replaced the blade then there isn't any other option as to what was there originally"-

-"Yeah! That must be it!"- Toyogushi beamed in pride with his reasoning. However the Weightlifter raised his finger, as if he were to make a declaration. When he talked, he did it slowly and with obvious suspicion.

-"Say, Toyogushi-kun…why do you think Kudo-kun modified the slingshot, in the first place? Before you seemed sure that Kudo's knife was there originally"-

-"That's right!"- Kudo jumped, in his own defense –"The change in your reasoning sure is suspicious!"-

-"That's because I hadn't known about the Workshop set before. I considered it and I think Kudo-kun did modify the slingshot"- Toyogushi explained –"But that's not the only evidence that links him!"-

-"W-What else could there be?!"- Kdudo flinched

-"The chopsticks in Chiba-san's suit, by example. It isn't conclusive, but it's linked to Kudo-kun"-

-"It does suggest a contact between Chiba-san and Kudo-kun, there's no other explanation"- Yukio said

-"Chiba-san received those chopsticks shortly before her death!"- The Stunstman claimed. However, after maybe realizing he had exaggerated his confidence, he added –"…Possibly"-

-"But the chopsticks are flimsy evidence. There should be something else pointing to Kudo-kun…"-

-"Oh, but there is. The key to the pantry! Kudo-kun had the key to the pantry, didn't he? That's how he was able to modify the slingshot. That's conclusive!"- Toyogushi clapped his hands –"How's that, Kudo-kun? Ready to confess?"-

-"What? What the heck are you talking about?!"- Kudo shouted

Akane's eyes widened in realization. She looked at Yukio, who had the same expression than her. Yukio had eye contact with the Chemist, and mouthed "Did you hear that?" Akane nodded, gulping. She had her own suspicions, but hadn't expected to start like this.

However everybody else other than Akane, Yukio and Kudo started interrogating the Philanthropist about the key. Kudo continued denying ever having the key, while Toyogushi did a recount of Kudo's supposed actions, always ending with Chiba's death. The discussion soon turned into a full-blown argument, full with screams of accusation and shrill voices. Finally Akane couldn't endure it anymore.

-"Shut up! All of you, shut up! Now!"- She shouted, making herself heard over everybody else. Slowly the voices subsided, until there was silence –"This is a mess. We can't continue like this"-

-"Of course we can't"- Curtis said –"Do you think it's time to end this? I don't think we're ready"-

-"Ogata-san, if you allow me a suggestion?"- Chiba's mental image approached Akane –"I think it could be a good time for a break"-

-"We're not in a trial where we can get breaks, you know"- Akane said, gritting her teeth. The dead Strategist facepalmed

-"I know. I was here for four trials. But aren't there other matters to talk about? Lay the topics, and take the chance to organize your thoughts while you discuss something else"-

-"But what could we talk about?"-

-"Uh, Ogata-san? What are you whispering over there?"- Yamaguchi asked with concern.

-"Bring out the truth about Toyotomi-kun. You know the truth; Yukio-kun suspects the truth, so force Toyotomi-kun to admit it here and now. It could lead to some enlightenment about the Mastermind"-

-"Do you think that Toyotomi-kun is the Mastermind?"-

-"Seriously, Ogata-san, who are you talking to?"- Hikasa asked as well, narrowing his eyes

-"I don't know. But let's try to start discussion about the Mastermind"- Chiba concluded. Akane nodded, and shouted: -"Monobear!"-

-"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees?"- The bear responded.

-"I'd like to kickstart a discussion about the Mastermind"-

The announcement sparked a lot of surprise from everybody except Monobear. The bear stood there stoically, without making a sound.

-"Do you think this is the moment for that?!"- Toyogushi screamed, almost falling from his podium

-"But we're in middle of discussing Kudo-kun's possible guilt!"- Yamaguchi added. Kudo didn't even reply to that. He only looked at Akane as if she had started to crawl all over the walls.

-"A-Are we ready for that? I don't even know a thing about the Mastermind…"- Curtis trailed off. Akane was frankly disappointed to see that nobody, not even Yukio, seemed to accept the proposal.

-"But to be fair, this wasn't really the best moment"- Sakurai said, snickering.

-"I'm serious, guys. This is our chance to do some progress before…before we're too weak"- starvation was now a very close threat. For a moment there was silence, until Monobear's soft 'upupu' echoed in the room.

-"I never thought you'd dare to start this…allow me to make this harder for you"- Akane frowned –"I won't let you triumph until you answer me ten questions"-

-"Ten?! I barely have been able to solve one or two mysteries!"- Akane couldn't avoid blurting out.

-"Exactly! Better chances for me. And even if you manage to answer them all, I won't come out and suicide after a glorious villainous breakdown. An idiot I am not"- Monobear finished and crossed his arms, in a stance of superiority –"Take it or leave it, Ogata-san"-

-"Are you sure you should, Ogata-san? This sounds very hard"- Kudo said

-"It isn't like it'll be easier later. Go for it, Ogata-san. We'll deal with it later"- Yamaguchi nodded. Akane took a deep breath, and replied:

-"I'll do it. I accept your conditions, Monobear. Even if it's to at least know the truth"-

-"Excellent! Oh, I almost forgot: you won't be getting out of this trial room until you solve Chiba-san's murder. Now here are your ten riddles!

**How is The Future Foundation involved in this mutual killing game?**

**How is Diavolos Avante involved in this mutual killing game?**

**How is SHSL Despair involved in this mutual killing game?**

**Why were you sixteen chosen to be part of the game?**

**What's this shelter, exactly?**

**Why is the mutual killing game happening?**

**What happened in the week that was erased from your memories?**

**Is everybody here who they say they are?**

**How did the Mastermind get access to your memories and your deepest secrets?**

**Who is the Mastermind?**

That's all you need to answer if you do want to think you know the truth. So start, Ogata-san!"-

Akane closed her eyes. She had wondered several of those questions at some point, but seeing all of them together was almost overwhelming. _How am I expected to get the answers to all that?_ But even with her pessimistic thoughts, she nodded –"We'll find out all that"-

-"Wow…we really have a lot to answer. This is going to be hard"- Kudo murmured

-"It may be hard but we must do it. We can't die without at least knowing part of the truth. And…there's a chance that we can get the Mastermind to get us out of we manage to answer all that"- Toyogushi said. Monobear cackled when he heard that

-"Gyahaha! Are you expecting me to let you all out so easily?"-

-"…that won't stop us. Let's do it. Where should we start, what do we have?"-

-"I personally haven't found much that could be used to answer any of that"- Yamaguchi said –"Does any of you have something to share?"-

-"Well, I did go check some of the bedrooms and found some stuff that could help"- Akane said –"I think there's enough to answer at least one of the questions"-

-"So cool! Didn't expect anything less from Ogata-san"- Hikasa said with admiration –"So tell, Ogata-san, what question will we start with? I personally think that the eighth one would be the easiest one"-

-"I agree with Hikasa-kun"- Curtis intervened –"But I'd like to point that the question's existence automatically hints that one student or more are hiding something important"-

-"It doesn't have to mean that, Curtis-kun"- Yukio said slowly. The Artist shrugged

-"Eh, you get the gist"-

-"Everybody here is who they say they are…maybe Ginchiyo-san would be the only one with some suspicious stuff. She had mentioned her name was a pseudonym, right? It could be that there's more to that than what it seems"- Kudo theorized

-"It's time, Ogata-san. I recommend you do a dramatic accusation, without beating around the bush"- Matsukaze whispered to Akane. She looked at Curtis, who was arguing with Kudo about Ginchiyo's possible secrets related to her pseudonym.

-"Uh, guys, uh, I have one accusation"-

-"What? You already got somebody who isn't telling the truth?"- Kudo asked, surprised.

-"More or less. I still need to hear it directly from that person's mouth. Is the name 'Masamune Toyotomi' familiar to any of you?"-

When that name echoed in the trial room, Akane could notice Curtis tensing. That was all she needed to be sure that her deductions were correct. The Artist was the person who had called them all to the shelter, according to the letters.

-"This is the first time I hear that name. Who is he?"- Toyogushi asked, scratching his head.

-"…I don't know"- Akane replied. Curtis seemed very bemused.

-"If you don't even have idea of who he is, why to mention him?"-

-"Don't get me wrong. I don't know who he is, in the sense that I know nothing about him. However I do know that he had a big part on our arrival to the shelter"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Piece of Paper

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

* * *

**Letters from the Future Foundation**

* * *

-"Check this, everybody"- Akane said, passing some of the envelopes Yukio had found in the trash. Yamaguchi gasped after reading the content of the letter.

-"So this is how we got called! This Toyotomi guy is the one responsible for our arrival! Committee for a Better Tomorrow…I can't believe we fell for that"-

-"We could conclude that Toyotomi, whoever that is, could be the Mastermind. Where were these letters found?"- Toyogushi stated

-"I found them in the trash compactor"- Yukio answered –"And very deep in it, in fact. They were thrown into the garbage a good time ago, possibly in the week we forgot"-

-"Let me see if I understood: this Toyotomi guy is the one responsible for calling us, right? And he claims to be a member of the Future Foundation. So wouldn't the obvious conclusion be that the Future Foundation is the group behind the mutual killing game?"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Letters from the Future Foundation / Piece of Paper / Face on the Wall / Missing Memories / Curtis' Annotations_

* * *

HIKASA: No, that can't be…

HIKASA: It's known that the Future Foundation fights against despair

HIKASA: They wouldn't do the same stuff SHSL Despair does!

YUKIO: Then why were us called here?

YUKIO: If it wasn't to inflict despair on us, then there must have been an underlying reason

HIKASA: Maybe **_we were really going to be the Committee for a Better Tomorrow_**

KUDO: It being the Future Foundation doesn't mean a thing

KUDO: Toyotomi could be **_a traitor_** to them

YUKIO: That's possible too

OGATA: If we got called by the Future Foundation…

OGATA: Then one or more of their members should have been watching over us

KUDO: But we don't even have a way to know who is who

KUDO: **There's no way to know** who is part of the Future Foundation!

YAMAGUCHI: I think it's suspicious the letters were in the trash

YAMAGUCHI: Surely **_they tried to hide something_**

HIKASA: We won't get anywhere with all these suppositions.

HIKASA: Isn't there anything more definite?

* * *

-"You got that wrong! There could really be a way for us to know who is part of the Future Foundation"- Akane stated.

-"But how? The only way I can think we could know is with our missing memories, and we won't get them back soon"- Kudo replied.

-"There's another way. It's a small chance, but it could work. I'm talking about those very letters"-

-"I'm not sure I understand…"-

-"Okay, look, if we got called here by the Future Foundation, then it's valid to suppose this shelter is their property, right? So the Future Foundations members were likely to be already here when they organized the whole thing"-

-"Wait, I think I get it…there wouldn't be any letters calling those that aren't from the Future Foundation. They'd be here, already! They organized it all!"- Toyogushi realized Akane's point. She clapped with enthusiasm

-"Exactly! What we need to do is check those letters and see who is addressed by them. Those graduates whose names aren't included are likely to be Future Foundation members!"-

-"Sounds possible to me. Let's see…"- Yukio took the bunch of letters and muttering to himself he started reading the names of each letter. From her point of view, Akane noticed something she hadn't noticed before: the number of letters was strangely low. She hoped that it was merely her imagination, or simply not seeing them from her position. However Yukio's expression when he was done told her that she wasn't wrong –"Guys, there are some letters missing"-

-"That was the sense of doing this, to see which one are missing. Those are Future Foundation members"- Toyogushi reminded him.

-"There can't be seven Future Foundation members in this shelter!"-

-"What? Seven?"-

-"Which letters are missing, Yukio-kun?"- Kudo asked. Yukio took the letters and gave them to Hikasa.

-"Seven letters are missing: Ogata-san, Yamaguchi-san, Curtis-kun, Chiba-san, Toyogushi-kun, Saitou-kun and Kudo-kun"-

-"…No, all of them can't be Future Foundation members"- Hikasa muttered –"What'd be the sense of having that many?"-

-"I'm not a member of the Future Foundation!"- Toyogushi exclaimed, surprised, but Akane thought about it for a moment.

-"What if…some of the memories Monobear took from us are related to this? What if some of us forgot that we're part of the Future Foundation?"- Akane theorized.

Akane's theory shocked most of the graduates. They were sure that they'd remember something so important of their lives, but if Monobear had taken it away, then…it could be true, right? Finally a voice broke the silence.

-"Impossible"- Toyogushi stated –"Unless we turned into Future Foundation members during the week Monobear removed, we can't be agents of that organization"-

-"Maybe Monobear lied and also took other memories from us"- Curtis said. The Stunstman thought for a moment before replying

-"What for? He didn't have any reason to do that. Our status as Future Foundation members wouldn't change a thing. No, I'm confident that all that happened with those letters is that Yukio simply didn't find the rest"-

Yukio admitted that chances were that he didn't see the other letters –"When we finish the trial I'll return there and check again. I was in a hurry to meet with Akane-chan, so I…yeah, may have been mediocre at that"-

_We won't get anywhere with this reasoning. The only positive point is that Curtis-kun was one of the graduates whose letter wasn't found, but that won't be enough. I must find another way…and I know exactly what to use_

-"Guys, hypothetical scenario. Hear and tell me what you think: if a graduate has a stack of the same envelopes that were used to send the letters, Future Foundation logo and all, what would you think?"-

-"That they're a Future Foundation member, of course!"- Hikasa replied, his tone indicating it was obvious. The Chemist smirked, seeing that maybe she'd prove Curtis' status as a Future Foundation member.

-"Well, I found a curious something when I was checking the bedrooms: a stack of envelopes. And I have a hunch that this graduate has lied about his identity"-

-"Eh? Envelopes? His identity? What are you talking about? Who had those envelopes"- Kudo asked, confused.

-"It's simple. Remember who signed the letters? Well, I claim that this Masamune Toyotomi person is right here in this room"-

-"It's the Mastermind, acting through Monobear. That's how he's in this room!"- The Philanthropist jumped to a conclusion. Akane rolled her eyes.

-"While I admit Toyotomi being the Mastermind isn't out of question, I wasn't talking about Monobear"-

-"But then it would be somebody lying about his identity. And Masamune is a name for boys, isn't it?"- Toyogushi commented

-"Who are you thinking of, Ogata-san?"- Kudo was impatient. Akane finally decided to get top the point. She dramatically pointed at Curtis, who recoiled.

-"It's him! Curtis isn't his name. His true identity is Masamune Toyotomi!"-

The Artist bit his lower lip, aghast. The rest of the graduates started shouting for explanations. Some of them to Curtis, asking if that was true, and for a defense. The others were screaming to Akane for an explanation for such affirmation. Finally Curtis gathered enough courage to try to fight back –"Bullshit. What was that? I'm not Toyotomi"- he said as calm as he could be.

-"Then can you explain why you had a stack of Future Foundation envelopes in your room?"- Akane countered.

-"You had what?!"- Toyogushi exclaimed. Curtis scowled

-"I already told you when you found them: I obtained them from Monobear's Office. That affirmation hasn't changed. I found them there!"-

-"That does sound somewhat believable, Ogata-san, isn't there anything better?"- The Stunstman started chewing on some gum –"Also, if he's telling the truth, then that seals the deal about the Mastermind being from the Future Foundation"-

_…I can't counter that. I can't demonstrate he didn't get them from Monobear's Office. How should I proceed…?_

-"Akane-chan"- Yukio waved his arms around as if that was needed to get her attention –"You don't need to instantly prove conclusively that he's Toyotomi. Let's take this slowly, alright?"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Future Foundation Envelopes / Curtis' Annotations / Missing Memories / Chiba's Strategies / Piece of Paper_

* * *

CURTIS: The envelopes were taken **from Monobear's Office**

CURTIS: You can't deny that truth

TOYOGUSHI: I'll point we don't have to believe you about that

CURTIS: That's up to you

HIKASA: I-I-I'm confused. What's going on?

HIKASA: Who are you? Please, tell us…

CURTIS: So you want to know who I am. Pay attention:

CURTIS: I'm **Ian Curtis**

CURTIS: I was known as the **Super High School Level Artist**

CURTIS: I was a **mediocre student**

CURTIS: And I come from **a place far, far from here**

CURTIS: Oh, and I'm **not a member of the Future Foundation**

CURTIS: That's who I am, have been and will always be

CURTIS: Nobody can deny anything I said

YAMAGUCHI: I don't know what to think…

YUKIO: Akane-chan, remember: don't focus on demonstrating he's Masamune Toyotomi

YUKIO: Start demonstrating **something is strange** about him!

* * *

_He's right. I can't instantly show he's lying about his identity…but I do can show that his supposed identity isn't as solid as he thinks!_

-"Curtis-kun, there's something amiss about you"-

-"Amiss?"-

-"Yes. I mean your talent. You say you were the SHSL Artist, right?"- Curtis nodded. Akane continued, more confident with each word –"If that's true, then…it's very odd"-

-"What's odd, Ogata-san?"- Yamaguchi asked, impatient to hear the Chemist's reasoning

-"After the fourth trial a new section opened. The only thing it had was a hallway, but it wasn't just any hallway. It had several exhibitions along it, exhibitions that showed what got us into Hope's Peak, that special moment that showed our best abilities"-

-"And what was Curtis' exhibition?"- Toyogushi inquired.

-"That's the thing. None of the exhibitions directly pointed to Curtis' talent. It was to the point where one could even think his exhibition was missing, but that's why Curtis' exhibition wasn't about his proficiency as an Artist. It showed his real talent"-

-"His real talent? What is it, then?"- Hikasa joined the greek chorus.

-"This object shows what's Curtis' real talent!"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Piece of Paper

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

* * *

**Face on the Wall**

* * *

-"This is Curtis' talent!"- Akane did an in-depth description of the face on the wall. Everybody scowled, disgusted.

-"Are you saying that Curtis' responsible for that creepy face?"- Hikasa was unnerved and was now warily eyeing Curtis

-"It could be an artistic display, in an abstract…and disturbing way"- Yukio commented, pale. Akane frowned, realizing that Yukio, unintentionally, had given a possible excuse to Curtis. The fake Artist could argue that the face was a complicated statement about an obscure political party and its hypocrisy, or some other silly explanation, but luckily for Akane, Curtis was way too frustrated to think properly.

-"That's not mine, I paint paintings, not creepy masks"- he grunted. Akane, although relieved, didn't let herself show it.

-"Then where's your exhibition? Have you been in that hallway? Then tell me, where's your painting?"-

Curtis pulled the beanie hat over his eyes. Akane continued –"Besides, claiming that it isn't yours won't be effective, at all. I have proof that you have something to do with that face"-

-"Proof?"- Curtis peeked from under his hat.

-"Yes, proof. This ends here, Curtis-kun…"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Piece of Paper

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

* * *

**Curtis' Annotations**

* * *

-"While I was checking your room I stumbled upon a notebook, remember? You snatched it from my hands, but I managed to take something that was folded into that notebook"- after announcing that, Akane took out the annotations from her lab coat pocket, and passed it to Yamaguchi –"They're very precise measurements of Yukio-kun's face, as you will all see"-

-"Yukio-kun! Did you know about this?!"- The Fashion Designer was pretty freaked out at the detail of the annotations, but passed it to the next graduate.

-"I did"-

-"That…that was for a portrait painting. Nothing more"- the fake Artist was sweating profusely. Akane could swear that his tanned skin was melting.

-"I find that hard to believe. If it weren't for the face on that hallway then it would be more believable, but with these notes…"- Yamaguchi muttered.

-"So, Curtis-kun. You're not an Artist. Then what are you? What's your talent?"- Akane asked. The fake Artist didn't speak. Nobody did, until Yukio talked in a surprisingly soothing tone.

-"Curtis-kun, listen to me, please…why are you hiding your identity? If you haven't done anything bad, and you're not the Mastermind, then it should be okay to reveal who you are. I'm sure you may have a reason to have lied to us about who you are, but it's time to show the real person behind the mask. Trust us, Curtis-kun. It'll all go okay"-

For a while, Curtis stood on his podium, dazed. After what seemed like an eternity, he took out a piece of cloth from the pocket of his apron, and started rubbing his face. A lighter tone of skin started to be shown.

-"…You're way too smart for us, Ogata-san. I don't know if it is your mind as a chemist that lets you achieve such conclusions, but…you're good at reasoning and deductions"- he then started removing the tone of his arms, still talking –"Yeah…you're right. Ian Curtis isn't my identity. To be honest I don't know why I called myself that. I guess I thought that giving myself a foreign flair would make it more believable"- When he was done, he took off his hat and the pink wig. Brown hair was revealed –"But doesn't really matter. I suppose it's over, and for the sake of progressing and actually finding the Mastermind, I'll try to clear any suspicions there are over my head.

I suppose being honest with you all can be a good start…or at least tell you all who I am"- he took off the big eyes he had on, and at the end threw away the apron. Some paint tubes fell near him. –"Those tubes have some compounds I invented for my work. I'm a rather smart guy, after all!"- The revealed person laughed heartedly.

Everybody looked at the person that used to be Curtis and now had no name. –"Okay. Let me ask you: who are you?"- Akane finally inquired. The man smiled, as if he were relieved of finally showing his face. Then he spread his arms, and in the cheeriest tone Akane had heard in a long time, he exclaimed:

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Masamune-Toyotomi.jpg.html)

  


-"Hello everybody! My name is Masamune Toyotomi, graduate from the 64th Class of Hope's Peak. I'm also a high-rank member of the Future Foundation!"-

-"…Nice to meet you, Toyotomi-kun"- Toyogushi said, seemingly sincere

-"Yeah, it's nice. I'll try to tell you all as much as I can, which I'm afraid isn't much…oh!""- Toyotomi bowed to Akane –"I should tell you, Ogata-san, I do am an Artist, but that's merely a part of my title.

I'm a Prosthetic Makeup Artist!"-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still wonky art, heh


	36. Chapter 5: Ignorance is Bliss - Trial II

Toyotomi wasn't behaving as if he were in middle of a trial, with people asking him to tell who he was and what his reason to be there was. –"So, I think I said I'd tell you guys about me, right? Okay, let's see…"-

-"You're a Future Foundation member. Tell us about that"- Akane requested. Toyotomi closed one eye and paced around, carefree.

-"As I was saying, I know I said I'd tell you guys stuff, but wouldn't it be better to do it after the trial? We still need to find Chiba-san's killer"- However a quick glance at the graduates' expressions was all the answer he needed. –"Hey, don't look at me like that! It was merely a suggestion. Okay, here we go…

Yeah, I'm a Future Foundation member, and a high-rank member. As such I hope you understand there is a lot of stuff I can't tell you guys. Confidential stuff"-

-"Do you know how many Future Foundation members are in the shelter?"- Kudo asked. Toyotomi nodded.

-"I do know. There is a grand total of…"- he made a dramatic pause before lifting two fingers –"…two members"-

-"Who is the second member? Is that person in this room?"- the Stunstman inquired. Toyotomi looked sadly at one of the empty podiums. That was all Toyogushi needed to see to know what the Prosthetic Makeup Artist meant.

-"She's dead. My partner is dead. Chiba-san was a Future Foundation member too, of my same rank"-

The information was a surprise for most except Akane and Yukio. –"It was to be expected. I had envelopes in my room too, after all"- Chiba said to the Chemist –"But it's still worth remembering.

**Future Foundation Agents**

_Toyotomi and Chiba are both Future Foundation members_

_Information added to both lists of evidence_

-"What's this shelter? Why were we called here? If you called us here then there must have been a reason. Why did you do this?"- Yukio pleaded for an answer. Toyotomi fidgeted and tried to play with his apron before remembering he had thrown it away mere minutes ago.

-"I…It'll be hard to believe, but I have no idea. I…I don't know"-

-"What do you mean you don't know?! Aren't you a high-rank member? Then surely plans like whatever happened here should be stuff you know!"- Kudo shouted.

-"Yeah, it's true. I have enough clearance level to be privy to plans that involve something like this shelter, but I have no idea"- then his face lightened up, as he thought of something –"Hikasa-kun, pass me one of those letters"- the Weightlifter complied, and soon Toyotomi had one of the Future Foundation letters in his hands. He carefully examined it, until he got to a conclusion –"…This is authentic. This did come from the Future Foundation, and this is definitely my signature"-

-"Couldn't it have been faked?"- Hikasa suggested.

-"No, it can't. I have my measures to know when my signature is authentic, and…"- he lifted the letter up until light shone through it –"…there's no room for doubt. I signed these letters"- after giving the letter back to Hikasa, he seemed rather unsure of himself –"Then why I have no recollection of having done this?"-

-"That's an easy one. If the letters are authentic and that is your signature, then there's only one explanation"- Akane stated.

* * *

Missing Memories

Piece of Paper

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Future Foundation Agents

* * *

**Missing Memories**

* * *

-"It isn't that you don't remember doing it. It's that you were forced to forget it"-

-"Forced…to forget it? So you mean the Mastermind took any recollection of having called you all here and got rid of it?"- After the Chemist nodded, Toyotomi stammered –"That is…wow"-

-"So you could be responsible for our situation yet you don't remember. Or it could be an act, and you're pretending to be innocent"-

-"If the Future Foundation called us here then they must be the ones behind the game"- Toyogushi commented. At that statement, Toyotomi's eyes widened and he stomped until he faced the Stunstman. Obviously enraged, he said, threatening.

-"Listen here, no Future Foundation member would ever take part of something like a mutual killing game. Not me, not Chiba-san, and nobody else"-

-"Wait, guys, there's something…if the Future Foundation are the bad guys here, and Chiba-san and Toyotomi-kun are the members, then…would that make both of them the Masterminds?"- Yukio said.

-"I won't allow anybody to soil our reputation!"-

-"Calm down, Toyotomi-kun! You can't deny it's possible. You could have forgotten you're one of the Masterminds and…and…Chiba-san forgot too and…uuuuh…"- Toyogushi realized his words had started to be nonsensical. Toyotomi's bemused expression shut him up. Sensing that things could be taking a turn for the worse, Yukio hurriedly changed topic.

-"Heh, hey, Toyotomi-kun, what do you remember, then? The recent times, that is"-

-"Hmmmmmm…"- Toyotomi thought for a moment –"Besides the events of the murder game? I do remember my actual mission"-

-"Your mission? Are you allowed to tell it to us? It sounds like confidential information"-

For a moment Toyotomi hesitated, but at the end he shrugged –"Well, chances are that my objective is already known by the person I'm looking for. They're smart, after all. Alright, pay attention, because this will be only the general outline:

There have been some suspicions that among our ranks there was a mole, feeding information to a shady organization"-

-"A mole?"- Hikasa had been struck by an idea –"If the Future Foundation was involved in any way, it's fitting that the mole, the traitor, is the Mastermind here!"-

-"It's possible"- Toyotomi conceded –"I wouldn't put it past them, but you all know who I am looking for. This person has a codename, which we all heard…but we can't mention"-

-"You mean Vorudemoto?"-

-"Stop calling them that!"- Yukio chastised Hikasa.

-"Yeah, that person. The one whose name caused Matsukaze-kun and Miyata-kun's deaths. I was tasked with the mission of finding the traitor and dealing with that person. And…my memories are pointing that this traitor is here, in the shelter"-

-"And who is it?"- Hikasa asked. Toyotomi rolled his eyes tiredly.

-"If I knew, I'd have said it by now. That's the problem I have right now. I can't remember who the traitor is. I do…have the feeling I found it out, but surely I was forced to forget it"-

-"This should settle it up: Vorudemoto is the Mastermind. And…if I remember correctly, this person had ties with an organization called Diavolos Avante, according to Miyata-kun"- Kudo stated

-"So in a nutshell, there's a chance the person behind this is a member of that organization, posing as a Future Foundation agent"- Hikasa concluded.

-"I think that really is the case: the traitor to the Future Foundation is the Mastermind. However, again, there's a problem: my memories were modified, most likely, and the only thing I remember is my mission and that Chiba-san is an agent from the Future Foundation too. And I am sure she's not Vorudemoto"- Toyotomi stated.

-"Why were you chosen to be the one to catch the traitor? Your talent doesn't strike me as the most useful to follow moles"- Hikasa commented. Toyotomi laughed sheepishly before replying.

-"I think it's because I'm really good at disguising. I remember I used to follow the traitor using different disguises, in an effort to catch them red-handed"-

-"… Ogata-san, do we need to continue with this?"- Kudo asked –"We still need to finish the trial for Chiba-san's murder. We could continue the Mastermind discussion later.

-"I agree with him. Let's finish one thing at once. I think we need more clues before discussing the Mastermind any further"- Yukio agreed –"And we won't be let out of here unless we finish Chiba-san's trial. Let's continue"-

_I hope that what we talked about the Mastermind was worthwhile, then._

* * *

**How is The Future Foundation involved in this mutual killing game?**

_The Future Foundation were the ones to call the sixteen graduates to the shelter. Also, the Future Foundation has is that one of their members, a traitor, is the Mastermind. It's possible the traitor, Volkos, used the Future Foundation's resources, taking advantage of his status as a member. What does Chiba and Toyotomi have to do with this?_

**How is Diavolos Avante involved in this mutual killing game?**

_Volkos, a member of this organization, is said to be the Mastermind_

**How is SHSL Despair involved in this mutual killing game?**

**Why were you sixteen chosen to be part of the game?**

**What's this shelter, exactly?**

_Most likely, an asset of the Future Foundation, as they were the ones who summoned us here. But how did this shelter exist?_

**Why is the mutual killing game happening?**

**What happened in the week that was erased from your memories?**

**Is everybody here who they say they are?**

_Ian Curtis was actually Masamune Toyotomi, agent from the Future Foundation, his real talent being Prosthetic Makeup Artist. Tomoe Chiba was an agent of the Future Foundation, presumably with the same title, Strategist_

**How did the Mastermind get access to your memories and your deepest secrets?**

**Who is the Mastermind?**

_Volkos, member of Diavolos Avante, is supposed to be the Mastermind. Who is Volkos?_

* * *

-"So, as it was being confirmed before we got sidetracked into equally important matters…"- Toyogushi once again pointe dat Kudo –"…that man is the murderer"-

-"Not again. Are we going to accuse me of this?"- Kudo replied tiredly.

-"But Toyogushi-kun said you had the key to the pantry. I think that is definite evidence that you had something to do with the slingshot"- Toyotomi reminded him. Kudo started arguing that he had no idea about any key, and once again the discussion devolved into people shouting left and right.

While people argued, Akane was again organizing her ideas. She was sure she had found the real culprit, but he wasn't going to let himself be caught easily. –"Guys, guys! There's something I'd like to…propose. Another suspect"-

-"Another suspect…interesting. Who is it, then?"- Hikasa asked, expectantly. Everybody paid attention to Akane, while she readied herself to point at the person she thought was the culprit.

-"…It's him!"-

* * *

Akane Ogata

Chihiro Toriumi

Masashi Sakurai

Aya Sawashiro

Mika Yamaguchi

Reiji Ohmoto

Mishio Matsukaze

Saburou Hikasa

Kaiji Kudo

Ginchiyo

Masaru Miyata

Hoshio Saitou

Takeshi Toyogushi

Yukio Ohmoto

Ian Curtis

Tomoe Chiba

* * *

**Takeshi Toyogushi**

* * *

-"…Toyogushi-kun. You are involved in this murder, aren't you?"-

The Stuntsman didn't reply, instead he glared at Akane. Finally when he talked, he did it coldly. –"No I'm not"-

-"Ogata-san, do you really think he's the culprit?"- Yamaguchi queried –"That'd explain why he's so interested in hounding down Kudo-kun"-

-"I'm interested in getting him declared guilty because he's the culprit. All the evidence points towards him"-

-"I don't know if he's the culprit, but…he has to be involved in this murder"- Akane clarified.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

H _air Chopsticks / Wounds / Contraption in the Pantry / Claw / Kudo's Toolbox_

* * *

TOYOTOMI: Toyogushi-kun has been behaving different in this trial

TOYOTOMI: He being the culprit is actually a possibility

TOYOGUSHI: How can I be accused of being the culprit…

TOYOGUSHI: When there's a **myriad of evidence** against Kudo-kun!

HIKASA: Just to make sure, what is this evidence?

TOYOGUSHI: The **knife in the contraption** …

TOYOGUSHI: …taken from **his toolbox**

TOYOGUSHI: The **key to the pantry** …

TOYOGUSHI: …found in his room

TOYOGUSHI: And the **chopsticks** …

TOYOGUSHI: Found in Chiba's pocket

HIKASA: I see. Everything does point to Kudo-kun

YUKIO: Akane-chan, you heard it, didn't you?

YUKIO: Something Toyogushi-kun **shouldn't know about**

* * *

-"Toyogushi-kun, what you have said is…pretty decisive"- Akane said slowly. The Stunstman nodded with energy, thinking he had Akane's approval

-"Yeah, I know! Who else could have done it other than him?"-

-"Yeah, who could have…I'd say you"- Akane replied. Toyogushi's expression didn't falter.

-"Still with that, I see"-

-"You confirmed that you are more related to this murder than what we thought. You named a piece of evidence that hasn't been mentioned so far in the context you use. None of us has said anything about the key found in Kudo-kun's bedroom"-

-"But it's the pantry key. We have said stuff about that already"- Yukio said, prompting Akane to continue.

-"Yes, but nobody had said a thing about the key being in Kudo-kun's room"-

Toyotomi gasped dramatically –"She's right! How did you know about the key in the bedroom, Toyogushi-kun?"-

-"I didn't tell anybody. Did you tell anybody about it, Akane-chan?"- The Assistant queried. When Akane denied having done that, Yukio clapped, triumphant –"And there it goes! It's clear that a certain Stuntsman knows more than what it seemed"-

Toyogushi gulped nervously, and cringed when he realized he had swallowed gum –"I…I don't…I mean, it was…"-

-"So, Toyogushi-kun, how did you know about the key?"- Akane urged him to answer. The Stuntsman gripped the podium with all his strength. After a minute or so of waiting for an answer, finally a voice broke the silence. It wasn't his, though.

Toyotomi was the first to realize the implications of the silence. –"…He planted it. He planted the key into Kudo-kun's bedroom"-

-"He had planned to blame Kudo-kun for the crime, and he did it by planting the key"- Hikasa continued. Toyogushi released the podium, almost throwing it onto the floor.

-"No, wait a second there. I admit that I planted the key into his room, but that doesn't mean I'm the culprit!"-

-"What other reason would you have to plant evidence and blame somebody else for it?"- Toyotomi smiled tensely, baffled.

-"I did it because I know that Kudo-kun killed Chiba-san! I…I wanted to make sure he was voted guilty, so I threw the key under his door. It being in his room was all I needed"-

-"That's why you suggested me to inspect the bedrooms!"- Yukio pointed at him –"You told me to do that because you hoped I'd find the key in Kudo-kun's room!"-

-"Yukio-kun, you were the one to tell me to do that"- the Chemist said.

-"I was passing you an idea that seemed good at the time, but it originally came from that guy"-

-"You! You killed Chiba-san and tried to make me look guilty. There's no way you're innocent!"- Kudo accused, enraged with the Stuntsman's attempt to make him look guilty.

-"No, now wait a minute there. Even if I planted the key, that doesn't disprove the rest of evidence against Kudo-kun"- Toyogushi countered.

-"He's right about that"- Yukio confirmed with caution –"He planting the key doesn't make him the culprit, or makes Kudo-kun innocent. We'd need to take a better look at the rest of evidence before voting"-

-"Alright, stuff against Kudo-kun: the chopsticks and the knife on the slingshot, which supposedly came from Kudo-kun's toolbox. Ogata-san, you were the one to examine the toolbox. Are you sure it came from it?"- Hikasa asked, ready to continue the trial

-"I'm positive; it had the same design than the rest of the tools. I doubt there are two of the same"- the Chemist replied

-"As I see it, the knife is more damning evidence than the key. As long as the knife stands, then Kudo-kun is our suspect here"-

-"Ogata-san! You know that Toyogushi-kun is the culprit. You know that I'm innocent. Please, find a flaw somewhere!"-

-"Why does it always have to be you?"- Sakurai grumbled, the only dead person with Akane –"He should make an effort instead of pushing everything onto you"-

-"I think my behavior has made me the detective in this place"- Akane replied, and focused. _If Toyogushi-kun is the culprit, then that means the evidence against Kudo-kun must have been tainted in some way. Think, Akane, what's odd about the evidence?_

* * *

**Logic Dive**

* * *

_What's the most crucial piece of evidence against Kudo?_

* * *

The pantry key

The knife in the contraption

The chopsticks

* * *

**The knife in the contraption**

* * *

_What flaw could there be about that knife?_

* * *

It came from a different toolbox

It was found in the contraption

It doesn't belong to Kudo

* * *

**It doesn't belong to Kudo**

* * *

_If the knife doesn't belong to Kudo, what does that imply?_

* * *

Implies that Reiji is the owner of the knife

Implies that the knife is the weapon of the crime

Implies that the knife was planted

* * *

**Implies that the knife was planted**

* * *

Who is the person most likely to have planted the knife?

* * *

Takeshi Toyogushi

Reiji Ohmoto

Tomoe Chiba

Yukio Ohmoto

* * *

**Takeshi Toyogushi**

* * *

-"I understand now!"-

-"What do you understand, Ogata-san?"- Yukio asked

-"I see how the knife is related to this murder. No, no, wait, let me rephrase that: I see how the knife isn't related at all with the murder"-

-"The only way it isn't related to the murder is that it isn't on the contraption"- Toyogushi stated. Akane shook her head, smiling widely.

-"No, there's another way for it to not to be related at all yet make it look like it is: planting it as well"-

-"…More planted evidence?"- Hikasa repeated, in disbelief

-"Yes. And I think we all suppose who did it, right?"- Akane looked smugly at Toyogushi. He gripped the podium again, in panic.

-"You're not insinuating it was me, are you?"-

-"Of course it was you. It wasn't Chiba-san, for sure!"- Yamaguchi said, exasperated.

-"Toyogushi-kun, the knife on the contraption isn't Kudo-kun's knife"- Akane stood as tall as she could be, proud and ready to fight for the truth –"It's yours! You planted the toolbox in Kudo-kun's bedroom so we would think it was his!"-

-"And if I said it was mine nobody would have believed me"- Kudo said bitterly

-"No, stop right there"- Toyogushi tried to fight back –"You can't say such thing as that without proof. And there's no proof that can mark that toolbox as mine"-

-"Maybe the toolbox has the name of its owner somewhere?"- Yamaguchi suggested.

-"No, I didn't see anything like that when I found the toolbox"- Akane replied

-"I took a look at it too, after Ogata-san left my room, and I didn't find a name either"- the Philanthropist confirmed

-"And there you see. It isn't labeled as mine, how can you say it's mine?"-

-"Because there's a piece of evidence that points, without mistake, that you're the owner"-

* * *

Stake

Monobear File #5

Missing Memories

Wounds

Hair Chopsticks

Contraption in the Pantry

Pantry Key

Ribbons

Cut Plastic Bags

Custom Knife

Chewing Gum

Cafeteria Disaster

Hole on the Wall

Workshop Knife

Kudo's Toolbox

Claw

Toyogushi's Photography (2)

Transcription from Reiji's Diary

* * *

**Toyogushi's Photography (2)**

* * *

-"I found a photograph in your bedroom, in one of your albums"- Akane said, passing it to Yamaguchi

-"You…you peeked into something as personal as my photo album?"- Toyogushi clenched his fists, astonished and enraged

-"I'm sorry, I was curious"- And that was half-true. It's true she was investigating, but she was also curious, at the time.

-"Who cares about how she found her. Aren't these Toyogushi-kun and Ginchiyo-san?"- Yamaguchi screamed, rubbing her eyes. Hikasa rudely took the photograph.

-"It's true, it's them. Why didn't you ever tell us that you knew her?"-

-"I didn't know Ginchiyo-san…"- Toyogushi seemed genuinely confused. He stood aside Hikasa and looked into what Akane had found –"That's indeed me but…why is Ginchiyo-san in this?"-

-"It doesn't seem like he did know about this…"- Akane muttered to nobody in particular. Toyogushi's attitude intrigued her. If they hadn't met before, why is there a photograph with them together?

Hikasa was the one who reached what seemed to be the correct solution to that question –"The missing memories. Monobear took more memories than we thought"-

-"But he had said he had only taken the memories from one week!"- The Chemist countered, starting to fear the implications of there being more forgotten than they had thought

-"It is clear Monobear lied. What…what else could we have forgotten?"- Yamaguchi gripped her red coat. It was clear to Akane that she was afraid that in the past she had gone along with anything Enoshima had done and now had forgotten it. For her friend's wellbeing, Akane hoped nothing had happened

-"Uh, Ogata-san, it was an interesting tidbit, but how does that photo prove the toolbox belongs to Toyogushi-kun?"- Kudo managed to bring everybody's attention back into the trial. Toyotomi, who in that moment had the photography in his hands, examined it closely.

-"Wait, I see something. Ogata-san, there's a toolbox in this photo. Is it the one you had found in Kudo-kun's room?"- He asked, barely containing his excitement at the development

-"Yes, it's the same. How else can Toyogushi-kun have a toolbox that supposedly belongs to Kudo-kun? By that being a lie, that is how"- Akane confirmed.

-"No, stop there…maybe…maybe Kudo-kun was a little to the right, out of the photo and he brought the toolbox with him and…"- Toyogushi had meant to say that Kudo could have been in the place the photo had been taken, but his way of speaking made it sound ridiculous. Cornered, he did the only thing he could do. –"Oooh…aaag…aaaaaaaaaaaagh!"- Toyogushi grasped his head and screamed as loud as he could. It was obvious he was under a great pressure right now, with Akane directly pointing at him as the responsible for the murder. And not only her: everybody else in that room was ready to condemn him as the culprit for Chiba's murder.

-"You're the culprit. You staked Chiba-san through the chest with extreme prejudice"- Akane declared coldly –"And now I'll tell how it happened"-

-"Wow, this'll be the shortest trial we ever had"- Toyotomi commented. He did a gesture with his hands, signaling Akane to start –"Bring it on!"-

* * *

**Climax Inference**

_It all started at midnight. Nobody had died, so Monobear went ahead with his motive. He had planned to return the stolen memories to one of us, and the unlucky soul chosen was the culprit. After a process I'm not privy to, the memories were returned. It's possible that something in these memories pushed the culprit to kill, I'm not sure._

_The first thing was to do a plan. With that objective, the culprit had taken the pantry key with them, and used it to open the pantry, making the contraption shoot. Then the culprit rigged the slingshot so the mechanism would be active again._

* * *

**WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT**

Yukio had interrupted Akane's tale. The Chemist stopped, surprised. –"Yukio-kun?"-

-"The culprit made the mechanism shoot, then remade it so it was able to shoot again? How do you get to such conclusion?"- The Assistant was utterly confused, and wasn't going to accept silence. Akane nodded, confident that her reasoning was correct.

-"If you want to, I'll explain to you. Please listen to me"-

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Kudo's Toolbox / Cafeteria Disaster / Toyogushi's Photography (2) / Custom Knife / Stake_

* * *

YUKIO: You do are good at deductions…

YUKIO: But you can't drop a bomb like that

YUKIO: And expect us to take it at face value

YUKIO: The mechanism shooting twice could change it all

YUKIO: That's how important it is

YUKIO: This could change the base of the whole case!

OGATA: The evidence is what led me to this conclusion

OGATA: And I'm sure I'm right about it

YUKIO: Then show the evidence!

YUKIO: Nothing on the mechanism **hints it was retouched**

YUKIO: And the cafeteria can't have been…

YUKIO: … **affected by the slingshot**

YUKIO: And **there was no physical hint** **on the slingshot** that…

YUKIO: It was fired, in the first place

YUKIO: And the **stake itself is pristine**

YUKIO: Can it have been shot before?

YUKIO: Why don't you stop beating around the bush…

YUKIO: And go to the point now?

* * *

-"I can't believe you missed it, Yukio-kun…"- Akane said with…disappointment? She wasn't sure what she was feeling, exactly –"You yourself pointed to me that the knife on the slingshot was changed with the one in the Workshop"-

-"Uh, yeah…"- Yukio said, realizing what Akane meant. He facepalmed, ashamed he had forgotten about that

-"How do you think it was exchanged? By opening the pantry and doing it, of course. And that means the mechanism must have been shot"-

-"And what if the slingshot was defective? If it was, then it may not have shot in the first place"- Toyotomi theorized.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Cut Plastic Bags / Missing Memories / Monobear File #5 / Hole on the Wall / Pantry Key_

* * *

KUDO: I think Reiji would have checked it worked

YUKIO: But how would he do that?

YUKIO: The pantry **can't be opened without activating** the slingshot

OGATA: But is it really a possibility that the slingshot was defective?

KUDO: Well, it really is possible

KUDO: **_Opening it would leave some sort of clue_** , though

YUKIO: It would have to be something not easily done

YUKIO: Something **only the slingshot would be capable** to do

TOYOGUSHI: ….

YUKIO: Don't you have anything to say, Toyogushi-kun?

TOYOGUSHI: …. ** _the stake_** …

KUDO: He's shocked he was caught, let him be

* * *

-"You're correct, Kudo-kun. The slingshot was opened and a clue was left"-

-"…Remember that it should be something that can't be done through any other means"- Toyogushi mumbled. Akane barely heard what he had said, he had talked too softly. However she was sure she had more or less understood what he meant.

-"Uh, I think it doesn't mean what you said it means. I'm talking about the hole on the wall"-

Akane stood on the center, and gestured to the podium. –"If that's the pantry, and I opened it, the slingshot would activate. The stake would be launched, and if it didn't hit me, then it would go straight to the other side of the wall"-

-"So there was a hole on the wall opposite to the pantry?"- Yamaguchi started to catch on.

-"Yes! And its position does show it's possible that hole was made when the stake hit the wall the first time it was fired!"- The Chemist concluded.

-"Excellent, that confirms it's possible the slingshot was modified!"- Hikasa cheered.

-"But to remove the stake from the wall one would need strength, right? Toyogushi-kun isn't a weak person. I think this is another piece of evidence against him"- Kudo asserted correctly. Toyogushi winced and continued looking to the floor.

-"Okay, so, as I was saying…"-

* * *

_The slingshot was set again so when the victim opened the pantry, there would be a death._

_So the culprit had to search for a victim and settled on Chiba. Surely it wasn't hard to get her to the cafeteria. Maybe all they had to do was to say there was an emergency, Chiba, being the caring person she was, wouldn't have doubted to go._

_So the culprit and Chiba got to the cafeteria, and that's when a struggle happened, turning the place into a disaster. During that fight, the culprit scratched and wounded Chiba's arms until they turned into the mess we saw. Then the culprit made Chiba open the pantry, somehow._

_The stake was fired, and pierced Chiba's chest, killing her. That's when the culprit formed another part of their plan: making somebody fall for that crime. I'm sure that blaming it on Reiji was considered, but was dropped because it was to be expected. That's why they chose to blame it on somebody else._

_And Kudo was the scapegoat here. First the culprit took a knife from their toolbox, and rigged the custom knife on the slingshot. The culprit sneaked into Kudo's room, put the toolbox in there, and took the chopsticks to put them with the body._

* * *

**THERE'S SOMETHING MISSING HERE**

Akane had once again been interrupted in middle of her recounting of the murder. Now Yamaguchi had been the one to do that. –"So Toyogushi-kun sneaked into Kudo-kun's room? That's impossible, isn't it? He'd need Kudo-kun's ID"-

-"There could be other ways to enter the bedrooms"- Akane replied

-"I don't think Monobear would let that happen. The doors are invulnerable. How did Toyogushi-kun enter the room?"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Claw / Monobear File #5 / Cafeteria Disaster / Stake / Chewing Gum_

* * *

YAMAGUCHI: The doors are made to ensure nobody sneaks in

YAMAGUCHI: The first trial showed that to us all

YAMAGUCHI: One would need a good trick to bypass the doors

YAMAGUCHI: And if Toyogushi-kun was awoken during the night…

YAMAGUCHI: …and got his memories returned…

YAMAGUCHI: …then it's pretty much impossible for him…

YAMAGUCHI: …to have planned something to go through the door!

OGATA: Just because it's hard to do

OGATA: Doesn't mean it's impossible

YAMAGUCHI: Then how did he do that?

YAMAGUCHI: It isn't like **there's a spare ID** **or a spare key**

YAMAGUCHI: The door **can't be forced** , either

YAMAGUCHI: And Kudo-kun **wouldn't open the door** for him

YAMAGUCHI: No matter how you see it

YAMAGUCHI: There's no way for this to happen!

* * *

-"Yamaguchi-san, listen here. It may not be exactly a key or an ID, but it works as one"- Akane took out the claw she had found under Kudo's bed. Yamaguchi asked what was that –"It's Monobear's claw. Remember in the second trial? I think it was mentioned that it can open doors too, along with some technological mumbo-jumbo"-

-"Oh…yeah, I do remember it. Where did you find it?"-

-"In Kudo-kun's bedroom, under his bed"-

-"Ogata-san, if it was in Kudo-kun's bedroom, how can you say Toyogushi-kun was the one to have it?"- Toyotomi asked. For a moment Akane was unsure of her logic. Why would Toyogushi leave the claw in that room? It isn't like it'd link Kudo to the murder

-"What if it fell from Toyogushi's pocket or something? I mean, maybe he merely lost it in Kudo-kun's room. That'd explain it"-

-"I think that's possible!"- Kudo approved.

-"Good! Now I'll finish my deductions…"- Akane tried to continue, but there was one more interruption

**YOU'LL STOP THIS NOW**

Toyogushi had finally reacted to Akane's tale. His face was red, and Akane could see the despair in his eyes –"Ogata-san, I can't believe I haven't realized it sooner"-

-"Realized what?"-

-"You have nothing that suggests I was even awake. When did I put the knife and the toolbox? Couldn't it have been before the murder even happened?"-

-"Are we expected to think you'd find the slingshot, get the stake unstuck from the wall, change the knife and then put that stuff in Kudo-kun's room, without reason?"- Yamaguchi said tiredly

-"Yeah! Who says that wasn't what happened? Who's to say that wasn't what happened?"-

Akane browsed mentally through the evidence. There was nothing outright conclusive, but with some luck, she could bluff enough for Toyogushi to stop attacking. She was completely sure that the Stuntsman was the culprit; it was matter of getting it to be obvious for everybody else. –"I can demonstrate it"-

Toyogushi snickered –"Then show me. This'll be good"-

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Workshop Knife / Ribbons / Chewing Gum / Cafeteria Disaster / Wounds_

TOYOGUSHI: As long as there's nothing that shows when everything was done

TOYOGUSHI: Then everything you have said are merely theories

TOYOGUSHI: As long as I insist

TOYOGUSHI: You can't mark me as the culprit

TOYOGUSHI: Not to mention I never had a motive to kill Chiba-san

TOYOGUSHI: And no, I haven't got any memories back

OGATA: But the rest of your actions are suspicious enough

OGATA: I don't need to do anything for you to be voted guilty!

TOYOGUSHI: So what? Let that be, then

TOYOGUSHI: But this is what I say:

TOYOGUSHI: I **modified the slingshot far before the murder**

TOYOGUSHI: I **put the evidence in Kudo-kun's room** **far before the murder**

TOYOGUSHI: And that's all I did

TOYOGUSHI: I didn't even go into the cafeteria…

TOYOGUSHI: … **Before we found** Chiba-san dead!

* * *

-"I found something that doesn't quite fit your words, Toyogushi-kun"- Akane said –"I'm talking about some chewing gum, spit on the floor"-

-"But I could have done that anytime, days ago. I do spit gum around pretty often"-

-"…ew"- Akane expressed her disgust, but continued –"No, it only could have been in middle of the murder. Possibly during your struggle with Chiba-san"- At this point Akane was bluffing, as she didn't even know when the gum was left. It was clear that it was after the mess in the cafeteria was done, but Toyogushi could say that he had spit the gum before Akane investigated the place. The Chemist hoped that wouldn't be said.

-"…oooooogh…"-

-"It was above the food over the floor, after all! If it had been at any point before the murder happened, it would have been buried under it!"-

-"Wow, Ogata-san found chewing gum on the floor in a mess. She does take investigations seriously"- Kudo said with admiration

-"Heh, should you tell them you found it by mere coincidence?"- Sakurai smirked, and Akane ignored his dead friend.

-"So that should be enough. I'll end this, Toyogushi-kun. You're the culprit, you killed Chiba-san!"-

Akane tried to continue her tale of how the murder happened, but a fourth interruption stopped her. However this one was far gentler than the other three. Akane took a deep breath and hiding her annoyance, she asked –"What now, Yukio-kun?"-

-"Akane-chan, it's merely personal opinion, but I think there's something bigger here than we thought. Toyogushi-kun's despair…I don't know how to express it, but it doesn't strike me as a culprit's despair"-

-"But he tried to frame an innocent person for the murder! Why else would he do that other than because he's the real culprit?! The evidence is pointing towards him!"- Akane screamed, at the edge of her patience.

-"Toyogushi-kun, you'll get only one single chance to save yourself, and I do expect you to be honest. If you're innocent, you'll answer truthfully. You do understand that hiding anything from us can lead to our deaths, including yours. So say it: why did you frame Kudo-kun?"-

The Stuntsman stared blankly to Yukio. A few times it seemed he had gathered enough energy to talk, but he fell silent again. The Assistant waited patiently, glaring at anybody who looked like they'd interrupt it. Not even Akane was allowed to speak. Finally Toyogushi said something

-"…I didn't do it out of malice. I…I thought it was the right thing to do"-

-"But why Kudo-kun? What were you trying to do, why did you do it?"-

Toyogushi grasped the chains around his neck, taking deep breaths. It was clear that there was something big in his mind, whatever he was hiding was overwhelming. Yukio's firm tone was helping him to decide to leave behind that weight, and spoke something that nobody in that trial room, except Monobear, had expected to hear.

-"…I framed Kudo-kun because Chiba-san ordered me to"-


	37. Chapter 5 - Ignorance is Bliss - Trial III

The silence that followed Toyogushi's words was overwhelming. Everybody was in disbelief. Chiba, ordering him to frame Kudo? How was that possible?

-"…Wow. I don't know what to say, just…wow"- Yamaguchi muttered

-"Toyogushi-kun, what do you mean with that?"- Toyotomi wanted the Stuntsman to explain himself.

-"I mean that Chiba-san clearly told me to frame Kudo-kun. That's all there's to say about it"- reticently, Toyogushi spoke.

-"But what reason would she have to do that?! What did I ever do to Chiba-san?!"- Kudo was the one most affected by the revelation. It was clear that the last thing he expected was for that to happen.

-"I think you do know pretty well"- the Stuntsman said coldly, and then towards the rest –"I wouldn't have done this if I didn't think there was a good reason"-

-"And you do know the reason Chiba-san told you to frame him?"- Yamaguchi queried. Toyogushi nodded slowly.

-"I…I accept it: I was there when she died. But I'm not the culprit; I merely framed Kudo-kun"-

 **-** Then who's the culprit? If you were waltzing around when she died, then you must know who did it"- Yukio hoped that Toyogushi had seen something good, but his mood dampened when Toyogushi once again looked at his shoes –"Alright, what's going on in here? Do you know who the culprit is?"-

Toyogushi nodded, once again refusing to speak about what he knew. _But what's going on? If he knows the culprit, why the hell is he not saying it?_ –"He doesn't say a name because he's the culprit"- Akane stated.

-"No, I think there's something deep and ugly involved here"- Toyotomi intervened –"Something that we won't like, at all"-

-"Then how are we supposed to proceed? Are we going to hunt for other suspects? Nothing suggests anybody else was awake!"-

-"As I see it, the core of this case is why Chiba-san would ask Toyogushi-kun to frame Kudo-kun. If we solve that question, then I think the murder will be solved"- Yamaguchi commented. Everybody agreed that it was essential to find the answer to that vital question.

-"So, let's suppose that Chiba-san was killed by Toyogushi-kun, and prompted him to frame somebody so he'd make a mistake and get caught. It could be a convoluted strategy to hand us over the culprit"-

-"Are you insane? Do you expect Chiba-san to do that? If she had time to prompt him to frame Kudo-kun, why didn't she do an actual effort to point towards the culprit?"- The Assistant replied, starting to lose his patience towards Akane's vehemence. The Chemist defended herself stating that it was merely a theory.

-"Oh, maybe Chiba-san was killed by Kudo-kun, and after he went away, Toyogushi-kun arrived to the crime scene, and that's when Chiba-san revealed Kudo-kun was the culprit. That may be why Toyogushi-kun did it"- Toyotomi presented another theory. It didn't stick very well, and the Stuntsman didn't bother to confirm or deny it.

-"And again saying I'm the culprit"- Kudo grumbled –"But I think it's very likely that Chiba-san and Toyogushi-kun did talk. She gave him the claw…no, maybe he stole it after Chiba-san died"-

-"But why would he do that? Did he know Chiba-san had the claw?"- Yukio pointed, throwing a wrench into Kudo's supposition.

Akane grunted in concentration. She was rather sure that Toyogushi-kun was the culprit, but as much as she thought, she didn't find a theory that satisfied her. She thought over and over, thinking different scenarios, until she gave up. –"It's not possible. Why would Chiba-san tell her murderer to frame somebody else?"-

-"Haven't you considered you got something wrong from the start?"- Matsukaze was now the part of her mind to her side –"Maybe you have forced everything to fit an erroneous misconception. Try to look at everything from another angle. Forget for a moment that Toyogushi-kun is the culprit"-

_Okay, Chiba-san ordered Toyogushi-kun to frame Kudo-kun…and gave him the claw. She knew he'd need it, surely. Then why did she choose Kudo-kun? And why would she need to frame, in the first place?_

-"…It's as if Chiba-san knew somebody was going to die, in the first place"- Akane said slowly.

-"She knew somebody was going to die? Why would she know that?"-

-"Maybe she supposed the memories that would be returned would be horrible enough to prompt one of us to kill"-

-"And why Kudo-kun, then? Did she think Kudo-kun would be the one to get those memories back?"-

-"What if Chiba-san was going to kill somebody and got Toyogushi-kun as her accomplice?"- Hikasa suggested, his expression clearly showing he wasn't satisfied with that idea

-"What? Chiba-san, killing somebody?"- Yamaguchi rejected that idea from the start –"She wouldn't do that!"-

-"Most of you thought yesterday that she would"- Akane pointed. -"But she was working towards getting us all out of here. Why would she kill somebody, at a time like this?"-

-"Maybe she lost her mind because she knew the food was scarce, so she wanted to get out of here"- Kudo said

-"Toyogushi-kun, it's obvious you know everything about Chiba-san's death. Tell us what you know, please…save us"- Toyotomi pleaded.

While the rest of the graduates pleaded for the Stuntsman to speak what he knew, Yukio approached Akane –"This is bad. Nobody has a clue of what was going on in here. I seriously doubt Chiba-san was even capable to kill anybody"-

-"I think the same, she wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of having killed somebody"- Akane replied.

-"She was a Strategist, and had connections in the army. She was going to be Chief of Police, too. I think killing people was something she was capable of"-

-"But she wouldn't let herself kill a friend. She's not that kind of person"-

-"Now that's something I do agree with. Chiba-san was a very nice woman"- at that moment, Yukio widened his eyes. It was as if he had an epiphany –"Oh…I just thought…I thought of something horrifying"-

-"What is it?"- Akane was starting to be in discomfort at the Assistant's expression. Yukio grabbed her arms, and asked her in the most urgent tone she had heard from him

-"Akane-chan, tell me all about the evidence you found in the pantry and the cafeteria"-

Akane proceeded to list all the evidence she had found, along with her conclusions of each one. At each piece of evidence, Yukio nodded, until she mentioned the ribbons. At that moment, Yukio's eyes glazed, but Akane didn't notice. When she was done, Yukio sighed. –"I see…I found out who the culprit is"-

-"Really? Is it Toyogushi-kun?"-

-"Akane-chan, those ribbons were in my possession until just after the end of yesterday's trial. Then I gave them to Chiba-san"- he said, returning to his podium –"Think about this, too: besides Toyogushi-kun, there's one suspect you haven't considered yet, somebody who was awake during the time Chiba-san died"-

 _Why don't you give a straight answer, for once?_ She thought, bemused, but analyzed what Yukio had said. _There's something about those ribbons that got his attention. And then there's the matter of what he just said. Now who's the culprit…?_

* * *

**Logic Dive**

* * *

_How did the ribbons get into the slingshot?_

* * *

They fell into the contraption

They were part of the contraption

They are false herrings

* * *

**They were part of the contraption**

* * *

_When were the ribbons added to the slingshot?_

* * *

They were there since the beginning

They were added after the slingshot was shot the second time

They were added after the slingshot was shot the first time

* * *

**They were added after the slingshot was shot the first time**

* * *

When was Chiba killed?

* * *

The second time the slingshot was used

The first time the slingshot was used

In a time unrelated to the slingshot

* * *

**The second time the slingshot was used**

* * *

_Who's the person most likely to have added the ribbons to the contraption?_

* * *

Reiji Ohmoto

Tomoe Chiba

Takeshi Toyogushi

Kaiji Kudo

* * *

**Tomoe Chiba**

* * *

Akane took a moment to calm down before once again thinking about the conclusion she had gotten to. It was monstrous to even think about it, but she didn't fully realize the implications of the possible answer to the murder.

_Chiba…Chiba really was going to kill somebody with the slingshot?_

However, when she was about to say that aloud to everybody else, Yukio got everybody's attention. –"Uh, everybody, I think that I have solved this"-

-"You mean you got something that will show beyond any doubt the answer to this whole mess?"- Toyotomi hoped the trial would finally end. The Assistant nodded.

-"I do. Toyogushi-kun, do me a favor and please look at me"- the Stuntsman obeyed –"Good. Now don't stop looking at me. I need to see your expression when I announce it"-

-"What are you going to…to…"- he was starting to fill with a sense of alarm –"Everybody, we need to vote for Kudo-kun. Please do it, we must do it!"-

-"Stop that! You know very well what happened, and now we'll all know. If I'm right about this, I'll know, at least. So look at me"- Yukio took a deep breath. What he was going to say had already taken a toll on him –"Everybody, the culprit of the murder of Chiba-san is…none other than herself.

Tomoe Chiba committed suicide."-

The reactions this time weren't of silence. They were of outrage.

-"You have to be kidding. Say that you're kidding!"- Kudo shouted, furious

-"Chiba-san, suiciding? Why the hell would she do that?!"- Hikasa was ready to punch Yukio for not taking the trial seriously

-"That's, that's…I don't know what that is, but it's…"- Akane was at a loss of words. That definitely wasn't the conclusion she had expected Yukio to have.

Despite their screams and exigencies of an explanation, Yukio only observed Toyogushi. The Stuntsman had reacted just as the Assistant had expected. He had sunk his head in defeat, practically admitting it. Everybody else were too busy with their outrage to notice, so Yukio took the situation calmly –"Everybody, please be silent! Let's give Toyogushi-kun a chance to confirm or deny this"-

-"But if he's the culprit then of course he'll support it. It'd mean he'd go free!"- Kudo argued.

-"By saying things like that you'll make him refuse to tell us the truth. Give me some space"-

Toyogushi raised his head, finding that everybody was looking at him expectantly. He swept the sweat off his forehead, and tried to explain. –"I…This isn't easy to say. Chiba-san was our friend, and somebody who strived to get us out…"-

-"Did she suicide, yes or no?"- Hikasa urged. Toyogushi cringed, and finally answered.

-"She did. I saw her suicide right in front of my eyes"-

The rage that had been sparked by Yukio's revelation had died, replaced by shock. Nobody could outright believe that Chiba had suicide, especially because it didn't make any sense to any of them. –"Do you know why she suicide?"- Toyotomi inquired hoarsely.

-"I do know. She told me why, and then she gave me the order, and…then she killed herself"-

-"Tell me that you didn't stand there and let her kill herself. Tell me you weren't a high-class moron"-

At that point, Toyogushi started crying silently. There was something pitiful on seeing a man in his early thirties, the oldest graduate there had been in that shelter, crying. The graduates let him cry for a moment, to relieve the grief that surely filled him. –"I did try to stop her. It happened so, so fast…I'm sorry, I really am, I'm sorry I couldn't stop her"-

-"How did it happen…?"- Hikasa asked, still astonished, but Toyogushi didn't reply. He stayed in silence, weeping very softly.

-"I think he isn't in condition for an interrogation"- Yamaguchi intervened –"We'll have to figure the rest by ourselves. What's there to figure out?"-

-"The weapon of the crime and the reasons Chiba-san had to suicide"- Akane muttered –"I personally think that the slingshot was still the murder weapon. I don't think she could grab that stake and plunge it into her chest just like that. So we only should need to find the reasons for her suicide"-

-"I think it isn't that big of a mystery"- Toyotomi said –"She was a person that despite everything we went through in this hell still managed to hold on her hope. There's only one thing that could have pushed her off to the far end"-

_I do agree. It has been mentioned enough times already, but one time more shouldn't hurt_

* * *

Stake

Monobear File #5

Missing Memories

Wounds

Hair Chopsticks

Contraption in the Pantry

Pantry Key

Ribbons

Cut Plastic Bags

Custom Knife

Chewing Gum

Cafeteria Disaster

Hole on the Wall

Workshop Knife

Kudo's Toolbox

Claw

Toyogushi's Photography (2)

Transcription from Reiji's Diary

Future Foundation Agents

* * *

**Missing Memories**

* * *

-"The stolen memories"-

-"Exactly"- Toyotomi agreed –"Something in those memories was terrible enough to make her kill herself. Is there something that could point to what it could be?"-

Akane tried to remember everything she had heard so far, from the moment the motive was revealed. There was something bound to give her a hint, surely.

-"It must have been something very bad, maybe something we haven't seen in the shelter"- Kudo hypothesized

_So here's the motive: if nobody dies, starting from midnight I'll start returning you people your darkest memories_

-"Most likely during the week deleted, but the possibility of it being something from before that is still on foot. Monobear doesn't play nice"- Yamaguchi said.

_Curtis carefully rolled up the sleeves of Chiba's military suit and gasped._

_-"Wow, these are very ugly wounds. Something like this doesn't happen by accident"-_

-"I wouldn't be surprised if Monobear planted false memories, too"- Yukio shrugged

_Akane stood up, and looked the disaster around. It looked like a bomb had exploded in the cafeteria. Nothing was intact, not even the door to the kitchen. –"Something very bad must have happened here. The little food you had has been smeared around, not any jerk does that"-_

-"Does he even have the technology to do that? He can remove memories and give them back, but can he fabricate them? I think the memories are genuine and untouched"- Kudo argued

_Just like Curtis, Chiba had a stack of envelopes with the Future Foundation's logo_

-"But it isn't likely she has done something to feel bad about. She's a nice person"- Yamaguchi said, softly.

_-"Do you know how many Future Foundation members are in the shelter?"- Kudo asked. Toyotomi nodded._

_-"I do know. There is a grand total of…"- he made a dramatic pause before lifting two fingers –"…two members"-_

_-"Who is the second member? Is that person in this room?"- the Stunstman inquired. Toyotomi looked sadly at one of the empty podiums. That was all Toyogushi needed to see to know what the Prosthetic Makeup Artist meant._

_-"She's dead. My partner is dead. Chiba-san was a Future Foundation member too, of my same rank"-_

-"It could have been a strategy gone badly, a blunder in some sort of important plan in her past"- Toyotomi suggested.

_-"Okay, look, if we got called here by the Future Foundation, then it's valid to suppose this shelter is their property, right? So the Future Foundations members were likely to be already here when they organized the whole thing"-_

-"It must have been a really bad mistake, then. Did she do something like that as an agent of the Future Foundation?"- Yukio asked to Toyotomi. The Prosthetic Makeup Artist meditated.

_So wouldn't the obvious conclusion be that the Future Foundation is the group behind the mutual killing game?"-_

-"I can't think of anything. She was very good in her job, from what I saw before we got in here. We haven't interacted much, ever"-

_While the rest of the graduates pleaded for the Stuntsman to speak what he knew, Yukio approached Akane –"This is bad. Nobody has a clue of what was going on in here. I seriously doubt Chiba-san was even capable to kill anybody"-_

_-"I think the same, she wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of having killed somebody"- Akane replied._

-"HOLY CRAP!"-

Akane fell down from the podium and hit her face, from the sudden realization of what was the only thing that could have made Chiba suicide. Yukio rushed to help her stand up, and soon she was back on the podium, although with a bruise on her forehead, but her idea was still intact.

-"What was up with that ridiculous display of shock?"- Toyotomi asked, unsure if he should groan or add how stupid Akane looked in that moment

-"I…I think I know why Chiba-san suicide"-

-"Oh, what a surprise! Not really, I was expecting you do find it out"- Yukio sneered –"Toyogushi-kun, please confirm or deny what Akane-chan is going to say"-

-"Who cares about that?"- Toyogushi muttered –"It isn't like it matters anymore. Why haven't we ended this yet? I already confessed that Chiba-san suicide, why are we still going on?"-

-"We should understand what was in Chiba-san's heart"-

-"Then leave me alone, find out by yourselves. I failed with what I had to do. I couldn't get Kudo-kun voted guilty for this. I once again failed to complete the last will of a woman who died in front of me. Nothing matters now. Let me crumble down and die"-

-"Toyogushi-kun, don't give up. We still can get out of here"- Kudo said sympathetically, but the Stuntsman ignored him.

-"Toyogushi-kun, the last you could do would be to at the very least confirm or deny my theory. After that, we'll end the trial. I promise"- Akane said, and Toyogushi didn't answer. The Stuntsman looked at her emptily, but the Chemist wasn't going to wait for a permission to do it.

-"…..."-

_Wake up from your grief, Toyogushi-kun. Even if I have to slap you silly, I'm going to force you out of it. Several of us have gone through our dose of grief already. You can't be left behind in yours!_

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

TOYOGUSHI: …

TOYOGUSHI: …

TOYOGUSHI: …

TOYOGUSHI: …

TOYOGUSHI: …

TOYOGUSHI: …

TOYOGUSHI: …

TOYOGUSHI: …

TOYOGUSHI: …

TOYOGUSHI: …

* * *

**…..**

* * *

_Tomoe Chiba thought she was the Mastermind_

* * *

-"It's something so, so outlandish in my opinion but it's the only thing I think would have pushed Chiba off the far end: the memories she received made her think she was one of the Masterminds"- she said while she approached Toyogushi.

Akane had wanted to deny it all she could, to not to sully her dead friend's memory, but that was the only conclusion she had. The mere thought of labeling her as a Mastermind was monstrous, but it needed to be said. Nobody would be able to rest easy if they didn't know why she had killed herself.

Not that now anybody would rest easy, since she had said that their leader and friend had been one of the people to organize the mutual killing game.

Nobody said anything. They wanted Akane to say more, especially if it was something that could paint Chiba in a positive light. She got to the Stuntsman, and continued –"I know that she wouldn't have forgiven herself if she killed somebody she was friends with. She wasn't the type of person who would commit such betrayal"-

-"Technically, she made easier Matsukaze-kun's death, remember? Or was it intentional, since she was the Mastermind?"- Yamaguchi remembered. The Chemist replied vehemently.

-"No, I never said she **was** a Mastermind. I said she **thought** she was a Mastermind"-

-"So if she didn't get a memory that specifically said she was the Mastermind, what did she remember? How did she get to that conclusion?"-

-"Her memories…I think she remembered that she was a Future Foundation agent. And she also had a few elements in her room that I think she hadn't linked to herself. Maybe she thought those envelopes and the list of the belongings had been left in her room by Monobear"-

-"Didn't you ever talk to her as a Future Foundation agent?"- Hikasa asked to Toyotomi. The Prosthetic Makeup Artist fidgeted for a moment.

-"I didn't talk to her as an agent. The most likely reason I was here with a false identity must have been to obfuscate my identity from my objective. After all, and although I don't think it's true, there was a chance she could be Vorudemoto, so…I wasn't going to ruin my mission by revealing it to her"-

-"So she thought she was one of the Masterminds, which would mean she contributed to what would very likely be the death of sixteen people, including her…"- Yamaguchi summarized

-"It's no wonder she killed herself. That's a very heavy burden, especially if she thought of us as her friends"- Akane commented.

-"But she had contributed to Matsukaze-kun's death, technically. If being responsible for other people's deaths made her so guilty that she'd kill herself, why wasn't she affected by that?"- Toyotomi argued, but was interrupted by Toyogushi.

-"It's easy for you to say she wasn't affected. You weren't the one who spent time listening to her regretting about it. I saw how much she regretted giving that guy the interceptor. I barely convinced her that Miyata-kun would have killed him even if the interceptor hadn't come into play"-

-"But the interceptor was a big part of the whole thing in the first place. Without it, it may not have happened"- Yukio pointed. The Stuntsman glared at him.

-"Shut up, will you? Just end this now. Chiba-san is the culprit. End this"-

-"But how is all this related to she making you frame Kudo-kun? That still hasn't been answered"- Hikasa tried to get an answer, but Kudo interrupted him.

-"Let's leave that for after the vote, okay? Monobear, let's do it"-

-"It was about time you bastards got to a conclusion"- the bear grumbled –"So you know how to do this and know what happens if you get it incorrectly. Let's start the voting!"- The surviving graduates quickly marked Chiba-san's name in their podiums –"You all voted unanimously for Chiba-san. And the answer is…"- he mimicked a drumroll, but nobody paid attention to his gestures –"…correct! Chiba-san is responsible for her own death! She set the slingshot and stood in front of it while the stake was fired! I bet you lot didn't see it coming!"-

-"We wouldn't have known if somebody hadn't told us about Chiba-san's orders"- Akane caustically said, clearly directed to Toyogushi –"Now why don't you tell us what happened? The trial is over. We were all saved, and your attempts to frame Kudo-kun failed. Let the truth be free"-

Toyogushi sighed, defeated, but didn't say anything –"You'll feel better if you tell us"- Hikasa said, although Akane had the impression he was more concerned about Kudo-kun's framing than Toyogushi-kun's feelings.

-"I know. It's…it's just that this isn't the first time somebody dies in front of me and I fail to complete their last will. First my wife, now Chiba-san. It affected me to once again go through this"-

-"Your wife?"- Kudo asked with a sympathetic tone. Akane thought that the Stuntsman would talk about what she had seen in the secret she had received, back in the third motive.

-"Yes, my wife. She was killed by rioters in front of me and I couldn't do a thing to stop it. She asked me to take care of…our son"-

-"Your son?!"- Hikasa yelled –"You're a father?!"-

-"Yeah, I left him with a friend before coming to this place. But I can't take care of him when I'm locked in here, and chances are that we'll starve. The Mastermind won't let us go. I failed"-

The graduates stayed in silence for a moment, until Kudo cleared his throat –"So, about Chiba-san…"-

-"I couldn't sleep. I was too worried about everything and the perspective of our deaths, so I went outside to walk around and try to read something…"-

* * *

_Toyogushi passed in front of the cafeteria doors when he heard a strong noise coming from within. He carefully opened the door, finding that the cafeteria had been destroyed. The food smeared across the floor, the door to the kitchen hanging from its hinges, and somebody flipping tables around without a care. The Stuntsman recognized the person. –"Chiba-san?"-_

_The Strategist stopped and looked at Toyogushi. He could see the deep despair and sadness in her eyes –"What's going on? What are you doing?"- He said as calmly as he could._

_Chiba didn't reply. Instead, she let out a yell of desperation and slid down the wall, crying and grabbing her arms. Toyogushi slowly approached, trying not to provoke her into throwing a fit or attacking him. It was obvious there was something very wrong going on. The Stuntsman got to her side and sat, putting a hand on her shoulder. –"What's going on, Chiba-san?"- He noticed something on her sleeve, and rolled it up, revealing a myriad of scratches, most of them bleeding. He gasped, guessing she had done that to herself –"Chiba-san, what happened?"- He asked, alarmed._

_Chiba didn't reply. Instead, she covered her face with her hands and sobbed for a fifteen minutes. During all that time, Toyogushi started to her side, murmuring what he thought were calming words, and looking around. Chiba really had done a mess. She had even managed to open the pantry, and there was a metal rod sticking from the wall._

_Finally, the Strategist calmed enough to talk. She wiped the tears from her face, and stuttered –"I did it. I'm responsible for everything. Eight people have been killed horribly, and now the rest of us will slowly starve to death"-_

_-"You're not responsible for this, Chiba-san. Yeah, we may still be trapped here, but don't blame yourself"-_

_-"You don't get it. I'm one of the Masterminds"- she stated._

_Toyogushi stared at her blankly, trying to process the information. Was Chiba-san really confessing that she trapped them all in this shelter? –"I don't understand…"-_

_-"How hard is it to understand?! I'm a Mastermind! Monobear showed it to me! I have caused all our deaths!"- She screamed. Toyogushi made her lean towards him and hugged her._

_-"Don't believe what that asshole says. Surely it was a lie"-_

_-"It wasn't a lie. It can't be a lie! I remember how it went…how my partner and I got this shelter using our resources as Future Foundation members; how we summoned those people…I even remember the talk I gave to everybody. How I said that we were going to change the world for the better, to get rid of despair and bring a new hope. I'm despicable. I can't believe I said those words and then betrayed everything by trapping them into this shelter"-_

_-"Your partner'"_

_-"Yes, the second Mastermind. Kudo-kun is my partner and a Future Foundation member"-_

_-"Are there any other members in here?"-_

_-"No, we're the only two. It's all over. Everybody will want me dead once they find out I'm a Mastermind. It'd be better if I do it by myself instead of giving them the…dubious honor of killing me"- she stood up and went to the stake on the wall, and pulled as hard as she could. When I got to her side and pulled her from it, the stake fell from the wall, clattering on the floor._

_-"Chiba-san, nobody here needs to die! All we need is make Kudo-kun let us all go. You're not a bad person, it'll all go okay!"- Toyogushi spoke with determination. Chiba laughed bitterly, taking the stake from the floor._

_-"How do you expect to convince him to let us all go?"-_

_-"I don't care, if it's necessary we'll strangle him until he lets us go, but we'll do it"-_

_-"That is it? Do you think he'll give you all the satisfaction of forcing him to open the door of the shelter? I know him pretty well. I remember working with him before, for a long time. There's only one way for him to open the door"-_

_-"And what would it be?"- Toyogushi was dreading what it could be._

_-"To corner him, yet give him a way to escape punishment. Kudo-kun is a coward man. If he can get away with his crime, even if the plan itself failed, he'll do it. And the only way I see is…for him to be executed._

_-"Executed'"- the dread was slowly increasing._

_-"He's the other Mastermind. He won't kill himself. Surely he'll let Monobear drag him into a punishment chamber, and pretend to die. Then he'll let you all go, pretending some sort of miracle happened and everybody got saved, and that'll be the end. That's the only way for this to happen"- Chiba glanced grimly at the stake –"And I suppose you know what's the only way for an execution to happen: with a trial. And no trial happens unless…somebody dies"- at that point, the Strategist pointed the stake towards Toyogushi's chest, advancing slowly. While Toyogushi stepped back, looking at the point of the stake, he tried to argue back._

_-"B-But the risk of starving is very real for him too. He could pretend to have starved, and that'd be enough!"-_

_-"And do you think nobody would make sure he's dead? He won't risk faking his death unless it's ensured nobody will see his dead body. All I need to do is to kill somebody, frame him and get him voted guilty. I can even enter his room. I have Monobear's claw in my pocket"- she continued advancing. Her expression was absent, as if she weren't really there._

_-"Chiba-san! You don't have the enough evil in you to kill a friend. I-I-I know you don't. You can't kill me!"- Toyogushi was starting to be terrified. He was going to die, skewered by the stake. He could easily fight and maybe overpower her, but he didn't want to hurt her. He hoped he'd be able to convince her that a death wasn't needed._

_Luckily, it seemed that Toyogushi had touched the right strings. Slowly, Chiba lowered the stake, and sobbed quietly. –"You're right. I can't kill anybody, but I can't let you all die here because of me. I don't know what to do"-_

_-"We'll see later, Chiba-san. For now calm down. Here, sit"- Toyogushi lifted one of the chairs and brought it to her, while Chiba stood there, playing with the stake –"Want tea? I could try to see if there's tea left. Maybe there's enough for a cup or two"- he said kindly. Chiba nodded, but before he left towards the kitchen, she stopped him and spoke with an authoritative tone._

_-"Toyogushi-kun, promise me that if something happens to me, and somebody dies, , you'll make sure Kudo-kun is voted guilty"-_

_-"I promise"- Toyogushi had said that without really meaning it, thinking that it was going to be enough. Chiba made him repeat it again, and let him go into the kitchen. Toyogushi started searching for a bag or two of tea, and put a kettle on the stove. While the Stuntsman was in the kitchen, Chiba stood and walked to the pantry, examining the contraption. She understood how it worked, and made her final move. She used the ribbons Yukio had given her earlier that day to complete the slingshot mechanism, and put the stake in its place. Chiba closed the door, breathing irregularly, and put the hand on the door handle._

_-"There was only one bag left, and it has your name on it"- Toyogushi got out of the kitchen trying to feign a cheerful tone, but his façade dropped when he saw Chiba standing in front of the pantry –"What are you doing?"-_

_-"Please remember your promise. You promised"- and with those parting words, she opened the pantry door. Toyogushi didn't even have time to step forward before the stake was launched to her chest, embedding itself. Chiba stood there, gasping for air, until Toyogushi finally got over his shock and raced to her, catching her in his arms before she fell._

_There were no more words, she didn't even last long. Just a few more seconds, before she finally passed away. She had died in Toyogushi's arms, without ever knowing the effect it would have on him._

_He gently laid her on the floor, and after what seemed like years to him, he finally took the decision to honor his word. He remembered the claw Chiba had mentioned, and retrieved it from her pocket. With a last look to her corpse, he left the cafeteria to do what he could to frame Kudo for that murder._

* * *

-"…Poor Chiba-san"- Hikasa said, and looked at Kudo with hate. The Philanthropist didn't have his usual placid expression. Instead, he seemed as if he was restraining his outrage.

-"Chiba-san is…was…misguided. I'm not the Mastermind"- he said with gritted teeth. However, Yukio had the impression that this denial was different than the denial he had used when he was accused for the murder. The Assistant got shivers, as Kudo's tone was almost intimidating now.

-"Aw, what a fine tearjerker story!"- Monobear mockingly crossed his paws over where his heart would be –"If bears could cry I'd be bawling with a vat of ice cream!"-

-"Why don't you shut up and let us out? The trial is over"- Yamaguchi ordered.

-"Yamaguchi-san, don't you remember how trials go? First you debate, then you vote, then there's an execution"- Monobear's eyes shone red. Akane gasped. Was he really going to execute somebody? But Chiba-san was the culprit!

Yukio was the one to say that aloufd–"Chiba-san killed herself, there's nobody to execute!"-

"It's a real bummer she's dead, but I already have the execution mechanisms ready and it'd be a real shame if they weren't used. So, who will diiiiie?"-

The graduates tensed. The bear looked at each one, while none of the graduates looked at him to the eyes, in fear he'd chose whoever did it. Finally, Monobear spoke –"I have taken my decision! I'll execute he who had a part in this murder!"-

-"He who…Toyogushi-kun?!"- Toyotomi looked at the Stuntsman, who had turned pale.

-"Exactly! Reiji-kun, Toyogushi-kun and Chiba-san each had a part in this murder, but two of them are dead, so it only makes sense to kill the third!"-

-"That doesn't make sense at all! Why'd he deserve to die? He didn't contribute to her death!"- Yamaguchi argued, but Monobear ignored her. Instead, he walked to Toyogushi.

-"He didn't stop her suicide. That's worse as if he had killed her with his own hands. It makes perfect sense! Besides, he has talked way too much in the recent minutes…way too much. It's my responsibility to silence him as I should have done before he babbled everything"-

-"No, I can't die, I have to get out…"- Toyogushi started to mutter feverishly, but Monobear didn't care about what he had to say. Akane half-expected the bear to jump over Toyogushi's neck and slit his throat like he had done to Miyata-kun, but instead the usual chain appeared, grasping the Stuntsman's neck.

-"It's time for an execution! Ex-Super High School Level Stuntsman and resident Daddy Dearest, Toyogushi-kun, is our target today! Let's roll!"-

Toyogushi was dragged into the darkness, screaming. His screams echoed until nothing else was heard, and the screen turned on.

* * *

**_The Greatest Stunt You'll Ever See_ **

What looked like a stadium at night filled the screen. There were rings of fire, rows of cars, a lot of ramps, and on top of the highest one, a motorcycle some of the graduates recognized. And on it, Toyogushi, chained to the seat. The Stuntsman was struggling against the chains. Monobear appeared behind the motorcycle and put what seemed like several sticks of dynamite all over the motorcycle and Toyogushi, until there were around three dozens in total. Toyogushi had widened his eyes when he realized what Monobear was going to attempt, and it was confirmed when the bear lighted all the sticks, and turned on the motorcycle. Somehow, maybe the Mastermind controlled it; the motorcycle sped down the ramp.

Toyogushi would have grasped the handles of the motorcycle if it weren't for the chains. In his actual position, he watched powerlessly how he jumped over spikes, landing on a narrow ledge. Around him the sticks of dynamite were getting closer to the moment of the explosion. Soon he got to the end and onto another ramp, which let him jump over the row of vehicles. Only the ring of fire was left, the Toyogushi feared they'd make the dynamite explode instantly.

The moment of the last jump arrived, and the motorcycle was launched through the ring and onto great heights. The momentary relief Toyogushi felt was cut short when he realized that even if the fire didn't affect the dynamite, all the sticks were active.

That's when the explosion finally happened.

The motorcycle and the man on it turned into a ball of fire, while an incredibly loud noise sounded in the trial room. The graduates could even feel how the ground and the walls rumbled, that's how strong the explosion had been. Soon the ball of fire faded, and it as noticeable that there were no more traces left of who had been the Stuntsman, other than a few scraps of metal falling onto the ground, bloodied and battered.

* * *

The graduates watched horrified Toyogushi's death. They hadn't expected Monobear to kill somebody else. They all had said over and over that the eight, then seven, would get out together. Now there were six, and the chances of surviving the whole ordeal were still pretty low.

-"Rest in peace, Toyogushi-kun"- Yukio said quietly.

-"So, Kudo-kun, you're the other Mastermind, eh?"- Hikasa cracked his knuckles menacingly –"You have the option to let us go now"-

-"I don't have any option. I'm not the Mastermind, you moron"- that as Kudo's reply. Hikasa narrowed his eyes but before he could choke the suspect, Yamaguchi held him off.

-"Hikasa-kun, it's not confirmed he's the Mastermind. Don't rush into conclusions"-

-"Yes, besides, it's clear there's a lot of things we don't know, and I bet Chiba-san didn't know either. Her tale had an huge contradiction with what we do know"- Yukio said

-"Contradiction? Oh!"- Akane realized what he was talking about.

* * *

Stake

Monobear File #5

Missing Memories

Wounds

Hair Chopsticks

Contraption in the Pantry

Pantry Key

Ribbons

Cut Plastic Bags

Custom Knife

Chewing Gum

Cafeteria Disaster

Hole on the Wall

Workshop Knife

Kudo's Toolbox

Claw

Toyogushi's Photography (2)

Transcription from Reiji's Diary

Future Foundation Agents

* * *

**Future Foundation Agents**

* * *

-"Chiba-san said that she and Kudo-kun were the Future Foundation agents. Toyotomi-kun said it was he and Chiba-san. Both of them made clear there were only two members. Kudo-kun, are you a Future Foundation member?"-

-"I'm not"- -"He's not"- Kudo and Toyotomi answered at the same time.

-"See? There's a lot to investigate yet. We can't jump to conclusions, but just in case, keep an eye on him. That should be enough"- Yamaguchi let Hikasa go, who agreed to watch over Kudo and alert of any suspicious actions while the rest investigated.

-"Monobear! We're going out to find clues to solve everything once and for all"- Akane took the metaphorical helm as the leader of the survivors. The bear shrugged, as if he didn't care at all.

-"Alright, do whatever you want. Just so you see I'm a fair, fair, fair bear, I'll be giving you lot free access to the last door, the one at the end of the fifth section. Ah, and access to my office"-

-"There's a catch, isn't there?"- Yukio inquired

-"Upupupu, you may think of it as a catch…you'll have only ninety minutes to investigate. Then you better get back in the trial room to end this once and for all. There'll be only one single trial, one single chance to solve all ten mysteries. I won't accept anything less than that"- Monobear made clear what his conditions were. Akane hoped that ninety minutes would be enough to do an investigation, but her reply was full of determination.

-"We won't fail. We'll unmask you, and everything you have done"- then, towards everybody else –"Come on, let's go. We need to organize ourselves to cover as much ground as possible"- and with that, she led every graduate out of the trial room.

Monobear watched them go, with a dangerous glint in his eyes –"I can't wait to see how well you fare, Ogata-san. Let's see if you're a worthy opponent"-

-ooooo-

Valkyrie examined the tip of the machine the team had built. –"This is a monster. I'm impressed"-

-"It's guaranteed to open that door as if it were butter"- Vieiras proudly declared, on the seat of the machine. After Valkyrie got out of the way, he carefully aimed to a spot in the metal door, and pressed the button. An orange beam emerged from the tip of the end of the machine, starting to burn into the steel. After a few seconds, Vieiras stopped the beam, and got off to examine the work –"I'm brilliant"-

-"Taking the whole credit"- Wolfenmaus approached, upset –"This wasn't your work"-

-"It wasn't yours, either"- Vieiras retorted. Valkrie rolled her eyes, stopping them from fighting like children, and examined what the machine had done.

On the steel vault door, there was a deep scratch. As Vieiras had promised, the machine really was able to cut into the steel door. –"This is the end of the game. Let's get this over with before the old geezer realizes there's something odd in the whole matter"-

Vieiras nodded and sat again on the control, and started again. It was going to take a while to cut the entrance, as it was thick steel and a wide entrance was needed for the whole group to enter, but it was bound to happen. They'd get in.

Wolfenmaus and Valkyrie gathered the troops. –"Listen, everybody. Once the entrance is destroyed, we must end this as quickly as possible. It's true that Volkos is in there. No, we don't know if he's alive or dead. But what we do know is that he's a traitor, and everybody in there is on his side. There won't be prisoners. Aim to kill"- Valkyrie made emphasis on the last three words. The troops nodded, accepting the orders. Wolfenmaus entered pushing two big boxes.

The bulking man opened one, and retrieved its contents. He started passing guns around, of different calibers and sizes. Valkyrie claimed for herself a gun, and clamored aloud: -"Whoever embeds a bullet in Volkos' head will be handsomely rewarded!"-

After everybody got a gun, Wolfenmaus opened the second crate. Valkyrie continued giving the directions. –"We'll need to disguise our alignment, in case somebody survives and gets the word out. We'll use these masks, and if you can mutter 'despair' over and over. That should be enough"- Wolfenmaus gave to everybody a Monobear mask. Anybody who looked at them would think that it was a group of rioters, despairing and with the sole objective of spreading despair.

Valkyrie donned her mask, snickering to herself. She felt huge pleasure on making everybody use those masks, as they unwittingly were carrying the orders of SHSL Despair. She monologued mentally –" _Today's work will be a huge step towards the right direction. Before anybody notices, Diavolos Avante will have a new administration. Die, Volkos, Veritas, pair of dumbasses, and let SHSL Despair take over your efforts_ "-

**Chapter 5: Ignorance is Bliss END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the endgame chapters.
> 
> Wow, I can't believe I'm close to finishing the first part of the trilogy.


	38. Chapter 6: The Angels, the Devils and the Humans

**CHAPTER 6: The Angels, The Devils and The Humans**

The six remaining graduates strolled into the lounge in the first section, and sat on the chairs and the edge of the fountain. The six of them had one resolve: to end the mutual killing game in the next hours. With that in mind, they all knew they needed as many clues as possible to pinpoint the Mastermind's name, although Hikasa insisted that it was Kudo, since Chiba had said it.

-"Again, wait until we have evidence before you accuse"- Yukio chastised, rubbing his temples –"So, we need a plan. Akane-chan?"- he turned towards the leader. The Chemist stood on the edge of the fountain.

-"Okay, there are six of us and a lot of ground to search in. Let's see…Yamaguchi-san, take this list"- Akane gave Yamaguchi the list she had found in Chiba's room. It was risky to entrust people with this, especially since they couldn't watch each other to ensure the Mastermind didn't hide evidence, but she was willing to take the risk –"Go into each room and see what you find. If there's something that isn't included in here, take it with you. If there's something suspicious and it's on the list, it's worth noting, too"- Akane also gave her Monobear's claw –"This should ensure you enter all the bedrooms"-

-"Understood"- Yamaguchi nodded, taking the claw. Akane, satisfied, turned to Kudo

-"Kudo-kun, you'll search into the trash compactor for the last few letters. Also take anything else you can find"-

-"Why do I have to go headfirst into a heap of trash?"- Kudo grumbled, clearly not happy with his task. Akane didn't bother to reply. Instead, she talked to Hikasa.

-"Hikasa-kun, keep an eye on him. Sorry, but you're still the prime suspect, Kudo-kun, it's merely a precaution"-

-"I won't let any funny business happen"- Hikasa promised, laying a hand on Kudo's shoulder. The Philanthropist scowled, disliking the prospect of the next hour in the trash compactor. Akane couldn't avoid smiling at the vehemence Hikasa showed. She knew she could trust him in that regard. Then, speaking to the next one.

-"Yukio-kun, Monobear opened the large steel door at the end of the Hallway Museum. You go and examine what you can find over there"-

-"Exploring the new places, got it"- the Assistant stood up, signaling he was ready to go ahead.

-"Toyotomi-kun, there's this file drawer in the fourth section. Monobear claimed it as his, but I couldn't avoid noticing that he didn't give any authorization about it. I…I think there's something going on in here. See what you can do about that thing, if you need, get permission to open it, but make sure you find out what's in there"-

-"That'll be easy"- Toyotomi grinned, confident.

-"And what will you do, Ogata-san?"- Kudo asked, leaning forwards from his seat. Akane got down from the fountain edge.

-"I'll deal with Monobear's Office. There must be something useful in there!"-

-"Seems good to me. Alright, let's kick bear ass!"- Yukio said with enthusiasm, but only Toyotomi responded in a similarly frivolous way. The Assistant left, feeling awkward after that failed attempt to raise the enthusiasm. Everybody got to the places agreed, hoping that each one would find something valuable and decisive to bring down the one responsible for the whole mutual killing game.

The prospect of investigating by herself Monobear's Office wasn't a nice one. That place gave her the creeps, as she feared punishment. The failed execution from the second trial was still fresh in her mind. However, after taking a few deep breaths, she entered.

The office was intact, as if there had never been a dead body. The desk and the rug had been cleaned, everything was spotless. This calmed Akane a little, as there would not be any reminder about Matsukaze's death. The Chemist quickly searched around for anything they may have missed back in the second trial that could be worth noting now, but there was nothing new. The old computer on the table was still the only thing of interest.

Akane tried to switch it on, but nothing happened. That's when she remembered she'd need Monobear's claw, but she had given it to Yamaguchi. Instead of going back to retrieve it, she decided to get a new one. Opening the closet where the spare Monobears were stored, she took one and forcibly tore off one of the claws. She froze, suddenly fearing being punished for 'harming the headmaster'. Monobear didn't suddenly appear to kill her, so she supposed that as long as he didn't notice, it'd be fine. Quickly hiding the spare Monobear among the rest, she got back to the computer, passing the claw through the slit on the computer tower.

The Chemist peered around the desktop of the computer, confused. _How am I supposed to find my way through this? I'm not good with computers!_

-"Click around until something happens. That's how you learn to do something"- Akane had heard the last few words before, but that had been several years ago. She didn't need to turn around to know whose mental image was with her now.

-"About time you appeared"-

-"Don't blame me. Listen, I don't have long. You're healing at a heightened pace, so let's make this quick: see that icon? Click it"- Toriumi directed, pointing to a black square on a corner. Akane clicked on it, opening an interface.

–" ? Whoever programmed this has no originality"- Akane commented

-"It's concise and to the point. Nothing more was needed. Let's see…here it says 'Coding'. Take a look"- Akane obeyed, and displayed a humongous amount of coding. She felt sick of merely thinking she could need to read it all. She was sure that it'd take most of the ninety minutes, which were already turning into less and less time –"Don't waste time; I doubt there's anything good in here. Click on 'Options' on the main page"-

Once Akane clicked 'Options', another window appeared. There was only one thing she understood among the many ticked boxes –"'Activate AI without user input'. That sounds like it's an option for the AI to execute itself without the Mastermind having to sit here and direct the bear"-

-"I don't understand"- Akane simply stated

-"You don't need to understand beyond the phrase "Monobear can control himself". The Mastermind could be dead and the game would continue"- Toriumi explained in a few words.

_The software that contains the Monobear AI, and can allow it to control itself at any time without the Mastermind's input_

-"Good, something to keep in mind. What else could there be in here…"- Akane closed the Options window and looked around. Something got her attention –"'Recent Changes Log'. Could it be worth checking?"-

-"I'm your own mind, Ogata-san. Don't ask me"- Toriumi replied sourly. Akane sighed and clicked on the button. Most of the entries in the log had the same user.

 _–"fujisaki-c'_ Sounds familiar to me. I think that in the mutual killing game that was broadcasted there was a Fujisaki"- Akane commented.

-"There are thousands of Fujisakis in Japan. It could be a coincidence"-

Akane scrolled down to the most recent logs. There were more users, and the first one she saw made her blood boil _'enoshima-j'_. Ignoring the wave of nausea she felt, Akane read the rest. –"Look at that. There are two entries with _'oyama-y'_ "- Akane clicked on them to find out more, and the window displayed a specific section of the coding, highlighted. –"I still have no idea what any of these stuff means'-

-"Wait! Over there, there's an icon"- Toriumi pointed at a side of the screen, where a tiny piece of yellow paper was alongside the code. When Akane hovered over it, a sign with the word 'Comments' appeared. Hoping it'd be meaningful; she opened the comments and wasn't disappointed, as it was a quick comment from the programmer. –"Look, Toriumi-san: 'Hijacking code. Is Veritas expecting this bear to leave the headquarters? Can you say PARANOOOOOOOIA'"-

-"This could be vital. There's a code that allows to hijack Monobear, and it was by this 'Veritas' person's orders. It could mean that at some point in the past, or maybe later, there's a chance Monobear gets hijacked'"-

-"And is that good for us?"- Akane wondered, unsure. Toriumi shrugged, but the dead tutor did add: -"But if there's no signal, then it's impossible that person could hijack Monobear, unless 'Veritas' is in the shelter as well"-

**Hijacking Code**

_A code that allows somebody called 'Veritas' to hijack the Monobear AI. Added by one 'oyama-y'_

Akane was going to reply to Toriumi's assertion, but she noticed that Toriumi was starting to look almost transparent, until she faded completely. Unsure of what that said about her mind state, she decided that it had been enough poking around the computer, and decided to see where else she could go.

After turning off the computer, Akane looked around for the last time, her eyes stopping on the door with the keypad. She approached it and looked at the three empty spaces that represented the code to open the door. _If only I knew what the code was, I could find something good…_

In her musing, she put her hands in her pocket, touching a piece of paper she had forgotten about. After taking it out of her pocket, she raised her eyebrows. It was the paper that Chiba had in her pocket, with three letters. For a moment, Akane wondered if it could be the solution to that door, and holding her breath, she slowly put in the three letters 'TCK'. Much to her surprise, the door rumbled and opened quickly, exposing a hallway and a stairway that descended into the darkness.

**Password (Update)**

_A piece of paper found in Chiba's pocket. It has 'TCK' scribbled on it, as if it had been done in a hurry. It's the password to the door in Monobear's Office_

Somewhat nervous, Akane descended the stairs until she reached a well-lit hallway. She could see an odd contraption far away, but there were several alternate doors, which she found out led to even deeper into the ground. _Just how deep does this shelter go?_ It was starting to seem as if the graduates hadn't seen not even half of the shelter.

Ignoring the doors for the moment, Akane walked to the contraption. She examined it, amazed. It was something like out of a torture chamber. There was a seat with several thin rods pointing to where the head would be located, and it was clear the machine couldn't be operated by just anybody.

-"Do you like it, Ogata-san? You have been on it already!"-

Akane turned around to find Monobear standing on the hallway. The Chemist stepped back. –"You gave us authorization to investigate anywhere, including your office. This is part of your office"- she quickly stammered. She was making some good progress; going back to zero would be disastrous.

Monobear thought for a moment, weighting Akane's words. Finally, after what it seemed like an eternity, the bear sighed –"I did. I should keep my snout closed next time"- he conceded, but then taking a more menacing stance –"But don't open the door closest to this room. Nobody will know that you died in here. It'll be as if you vanished in thin air"-

Akane gulped and nodded. She was willing to accept any condition in exchange of being let to investigate around, but at the same time hoped that whatever was behind that door wasn't vital to the Mastermind's identity. –"I'll know if you disobey. This'll be the only warning"- and with that, he turned to leave, but was stopped by Akane.

-"Wait! Monobear, what's this…"- she eyed with disgust the machine –"…thing?"-

-"It's beautiful! This wonder of mechanics is what allows us to remove, add and restore any type of memories. I call him 'Memory Restoration Machine'!"-

-"Not very original, eh?"- Akane commented, smirking –"But it's alright, not everybody can be creative"-

-"Shush! You have no right to criticize me!"- Monobear snapped. Akane noticed the strange change in behavior, and so did the Mastermind, as they reeled back –"Eh, eh, I mean, that's the name Enoshima's followers gave to the machine. It's not my fault"- and after that, Monobear practically ran away, leaving Akane alone in the room.

_…what was that?_

**Memory Restoration Machine**

_A machine that allows the Mastermind to remove, add or restore any memories. It's theorized that all the graduates were forced to be affected by it at some point._

Akane examined every inch of the machine, but didn't find anything that could hint its owner. _A powerful organization such as the Future Foundation could own this_ she thought, but didn't get farther than that.

Leaving the machine alone, Akane decided to see what else she could find in the room. The machine filled most of the room, but there was a laptop on a desk. She turned the laptop on, but everything in it had been wiped out with the exception of a two icons on the desktop. One was the usual file browser, but the other one was unfamiliar. After clicking on it, only a black screen emerged, but nothing else happened, no matter how much she typed or clicked around.

Giving up, Akane examined the desk drawers. Only one drawer wasn't empty. Curious, Akane retrieved the objects found in the drawer. They were a lot of flash drives, all of them identical. Taking one, she inserted it into the laptop, after somehow managing to close the black screen, and browsed the contents. There was only one file, with the same icon than the software. Akane opened the file, and once again the black screen appeared, this time with text.

Akane couldn't understand anything of what she was seeing. It was all undecipherable, so she highlighted a part. Several options appeared, among them 'watch', 'edit', 'save' and 'delete'. She clicked on 'watch'.

It seemed like a video of a reunion, in the conference room in the shelter. Standing on the podium, there was Chiba, speaking about SHSL Despair and the type of measures needed in order to counter him. In that moment, the camera turned to the right, and Akane saw herself on the screen. _–"I can't believe I'm here. Aren't you afraid?"-_ She heard herself say. _–"I'm not afraid"-_ Akane recognized Yukio's voice. The video ended.

Wondering what was that, Akane scrolled to the top and selected a few lines, pressing 'watch'. This time the video showed a public bathroom she didn't recognize. Yukio was reflected in the mirror, his face wet as if he had just washed it, but that wasn't what got Akane's attention. The Assistant didn't have any camera or anything. In fact, when he looked forward, it was clear that the video apparently came from Yukio's eyes. Akane gasped when she realized she was watching some of Yukio's missing memories.

In the video, Reiji entered, and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. _–"Yukio, Father is okay. He just needs lots of rest"-_

Yukio nodded, acknowledging the news _–"Will we really be capable of continuing the trial? We're merely middle school students"-_

 _-"I'm sure we can. Let's do our best!"-_ Reiji beamed with excitement _–"It's time to show what's out worth. Besides, you underestimate your own abilities. You're the best lawyer I have ever met"-_

 _-"Even better than Father?"-_ Yukio replied, seemingly amused. Akane couldn't hear Reiji's reply, as the video ended.

The Chemist had to take a moment to process what she had found. She had, almost literally, found everybody's missing memories. In her shock, her fingers accidentally grazed over the keyboard, activating the 'edit' option. In there, there was a space to type. The only explanation she could find was 'Type the new memory. Press 'Save' when the modification is finished'

-"Are you saying that this thing can let one edit somebody's memories?!"- Sawashiro shouted. Akane jumped, taken by surprise, but when she saw it was her dead friend she calmed down –"This is…Ogata-san, this is incredibly important"-

-"So in here there must be my memories, too. I must find it and…"-

-"No!"- Sawashiro interrupted –"You don't have time to check each one until you find the correct one"-

Akane reluctantly agreed. The only thing she hoped was that when everything was over, she'd have time to come back and take the laptop and the flashdrives. That's when she counted how many there were.

**Shady Flashdrives**

_Fifteen flashdrives, each one with the missing memories of one graduate. There's also a software that allows to edit the memories._

Akane had started to go towards a hall on the other side of the room when she felt she stepped on something. Lifting her foot, she found a tube of what looked like oil paint, of a light skin tone. She carefully examined it and looked around, in case there were more. The only thing she found was a small crevice on the wall. After putting her fingers in there, she pulled and found it was a cover for a hole on the wall, painted to look like the concrete the shelter was made of. In the hole there were several other tubes, scissors, needles, and what looked like cloths of different colors, and threads of a light purple color, as thin as a hair.

 _I have seen these tubes before…_ Akane remembered that in the trial, Toyotomi had showed one of them. And what had he said about that?

_-"Those tubes have some compounds I invented for my work. I'm a rather smart guy, after all!"-_

**Prosthetic Makeup**

_A set of objects that could be used to create disguises and modify the body and face. It's believed that Toyotomi has created some of the compounds used_

Akane picked a few of the tubes and a handful of thread, and put them in her pocket.

After looking around for a moment, she decided it was time to move on. Akane entered the hallway on the opposite side of the entrance she had gone through. A few meters after entering she found a wall, and on it, what seemed like a ladder embedded into the wall. She ascended slowly, wondering what it would be for. Looking upwards, she saw a ray of light.

When she got to the very top, she found that the light was coming through a vent, way too small to pass through it, but what she saw at the other side got her very anxious. Akane gasped loudly, and fearing they could have heard her, she hurriedly climbed down the ladder. Once she was safe on the ground, she tried not to hyperventilate from the panic she was feeling. She recognized very well the masks, and had seen the fearsome guns they were holding. She had also seen the strange machine that was doing something to the door, but she was sure the end result would be that the door would be broken, somehow.

_The people outside…they're rioters!_

_It's only matter of time before they break the door. If they get in here, we'll all die!_

**The People Outside**

_During the two days or so, there have been rioters trying to enter the shelter._

While Akane was trying to calm down, she looked at the ground and frowned. There was a flat object in a corner, something she had recognized. She lifted it to take a better look, and confirmed what it was.

A Future Foundation envelope had been lying there, as if it had been thrown through the vent she had looked through. Wondering if it was a message for the Mastermind, she peeked at the content, a note. No matter how many times she read it, she didn't understand.

-"These people are useless and won't kill him. If you don't hurry up and break that damned door down, Volkos won't die, and the whole plan will go down the drain. Stop standing around and DO SOMETHING"- she read aloud, wondering how much this affected what the graduates thought about the Mastermind.

**Letter in the Vent**

_A letter, in a Future Foundation envelope, apparently passed through the vent. It says: "These people are useless and won't kill him. If you don't hurry up and break that damned door down, Volkos will escape, and the whole plan will go down the drain. Stop standing around and DO SOMETHING"_

Putting the letter in her pocket, she hurriedly walked back to the short hall with the doors. Not daring to open the one Monobear had explicitly forbidden, she chose one of the other three, finding what looked like a small study. There wasn't much to see. Just a shelf with nothing in it, a desk, and a chair. There was nothing else except a few pens and a stack of Future Foundation envelopes in the drawer.

**Future Foundation Envelopes**

_A bunch of envelopes marked with the Future Foundation logo. Both Curtis and Chiba had them in their bedrooms. There were envelopes in the Locked Section study._

As there was nothing else to see in the study, she returned to the hall to open the second door. It was far more interesting than the other one. There was a big screen embedded onto a wall, with what looked like a map of the shelter. She approached the screen and found a keypad.

-"You're too curious for your own good. Don't you have other places to be?"-

Akane was once again startled by Monobear. He was standing on the entrance, tapping his foot onto the ground impatiently –"How long before you finally leave?"-

-"I must find as many clues as I can to unmask you"- Akane said, disguising her nervousness, and trying to focus on the keypad. She randomly chose one of the buttons and pressed it while Monobear was getting nearer. In that moment a strange clicking sound echoed on the ceiling. Akane looked upwards to see that a small section of the ceiling was now showing the sky through a grate, but her attention returned to Monobear.

-"I'll have to put a limit to…put a limit…I…limit…"- Monobear had tried to say something, but the moment the chute on the ceiling opened, the bear started slurring. He twitched, falling onto the floor, until he managed to turn around, staring at the ceiling. Intrigued, Akane approached him. Monobear's eyes were moving, the Chemist could see that he was trying to focus. Finally, after a minute or so, he managed to stand up, but instead of continuing to berate Akane about how she was still investigating the Locked Section, he looked around as he didn't recognize where he was.

-"Monobear?"-

The bear finally bothered to pay attention to the graduate. He laughed, but not with his usual 'upupu', or the more energetic and mocking laugh he had. It was more of a victorious laugh, as if he had succeeded in doing something he wanted for a long time. –"Hi there! I think I got a short circuit or something, yeah. What was your name?"-

-"…uh?"- To say that Akane was confused was an understatement. There was no trace of the bad mood Monobear had showed less than five minutes ago, he seemed to be in better mood now. Just in case, Akane got her guard up. It could be some sort of farfetched plan, for all she knew.

-"Nevermind, here are the memory banks…"- Monobear slumped over and didn't move. _…what?_

Akane decided to ignore the last minutes and looked upwards, to the chute. She knew that the moment it had opened, Monobear had started to behave strangely –"What could that be for?"-

**Chute on the Ceiling**

_A chute, located on the Locked Section. The moment it was opened, Monobear started behaving strangely._

-"Ogata-san?"-

Monobear was once again functioning, and was examining the screen –"You're Akane Ogata, aren't you?"- The Chemist nodded. The bear murmured something that sounded like 'let's get to business', and then ordered –"Press those buttons"-

Supposing that could be an authorization to continue prodding around, she obeyed, pressing one of them. The map of the shelter didn't change. She examined the map. There were no marks indicating what room was what, but her memory allowed her to pinpoint several key place, and based on that deduce what the other rooms were. She noticed that there was nothing marked beyond the long hall that was the fifth section. She also noticed that in Monobear's Office, the Locked Section was marked as stairs, but the section itself wasn't visible –"That did nothing. Press another one"- Monobear ordered.

The next button showed the Locked Section. Akane confirmed that there were two places more to check, but looking closely, she noticed that one of the two were more stairs, leading even deeper into the shelter. –"How deep does this shelter go?"- she wondered aloud.

-"There's no information to answer that"-

Akane hadn't expected Monobear to try to answer to that in any way. –"What's going on with you?"- She couldn't stop herself from asking. Monobear looked at her blankly, but he crossed his arms and cackled.

-"There's nothing going on with me! I'm as normal as always! Haha! Haha!"- Akane didn't reply, so Monobear once again hurried her to continue pressing buttons.

For a while more, Akane and Monobear looked over the maps. The shelter went down for another eleven floors. Akane couldn't believe that the place was so large, as most of the rooms unexplored were of a considerable size, and apparently, built deeply into the city. Finally there was another button that didn't activate a map. Instead, several dots appeared on the maps. –"This is new, let me see…"- Monobear fell onto the keypad and then to the floor as if he had been deactivated, changing the map to the one showing the sections Akane knew, just that this time it had the dots. While Akane tried to decipher the meaning of those dots, Monobear stood up again. –"Those are sensors that let waves be spread around the shelter! They allow me to be activated in any place in here"- he informed.

-"…Thank you for the information, I suppose"- _What are you planning? Why so...helpful?_

**Sensors**

_Embedded into the walls of the shelter, there are sensors that send and receive waves. Could be the mechanic behind Monobear moving._

In that moment, Monobear once again deactivated, falling to the floor. Akane decided to leave while the bear wasn't bothering her, for once. She was starting to get weirded out from his behavior. It didn't help that when she was about to leave the room, Monobear was on his feet again, and apparently, in bad mood again.

-"You! Get out of here! I should have left this room off-limits too. Get out!"- He pushed Akane out of the room, almost throwing her onto the floor of the hall, and closed the door. –"No entering back there"- he ordered, and left to who knows where. Akane took a moment to try to process the almost bipolar changes Monobear had during the last few minutes, but chalked it up to the Mastermind trying to confuse her. Whatever. _There are a lot of rooms to check and way too little time. I better hurry._

Not knowing how long it had been since she got out of the trial room, she entered the last room in the hall, finding a big metallic board covering the wall. On it she could see several crevices, where she supposed she could put her fingers and pull. She counted fifty of them, around forty with a light indicating there was something in there, and wondered what their purpose was. Knowing that she wouldn't find out until she checked the content, she grabbed a random one and pulled. That was something she regretted instantly.

The cabinet opened with a loud sound, fully extending itself, revealing the charred and almost unrecognizable body of Aya Sawashiro.

She knew it was her because a few parts of her face and kimono were still intact, somehow. They were unique enough to know it was her. Grossed out and almost traumatized, Akane pushed back the body into the board, and hurriedly left the room.

_That was a morgue! Everybody's dead bodies are in there! But then why are so many lights on? Could there be even more corpses?_

**Morgue**

_A morgue in the Locked section, storing the dead bodies of the graduates. There are more than ten bodies in the morgue, according to the lights of the morgue_

Trying to forget the horrible sight of Sawashiro's corpse, Akane practically ran down the stairs leading to deeper into the shelter. Just as the map had indicated, there were several other rooms on a hall. She peeked quickly into each one, realizing with each one what they were. She made mental notes of each room, as she knew she had found the rooms where the executions were done. All of them were huge, and once again made Akane wonder how they were built, and why.

In the first one she found the stadium where Toyogushi had next one had the huge camera contraption that pulverized Ginchiyo. Next there was a platform with what seemed like giant weights mixed with a torture contraption, hanging over an endless pit. Then there was a room with a huge canvas at the end, and a few elements strewn around that looked like paint cans and duct tape.

There were more stairs after those four rooms. The second part had what looked like a chess board with sixteen Monobear on one side and four turrets on the other side. The next room had a mock trial room with guillotines. The one after that was the classroom where Toriumi had died electrocuted, and the last one was like the Conference Room, just that it had a big trapdoor near the podium, and a chair with ropes.

The last floor of had five rooms. The first one was tiny and completely empty, besides a few holes on the walls. The second one was the room was the old room where Sawashiro lived her last moments. The next one had a lot of sewing needles and a copy of Junko Enoshima's clothes. The one after that featured a giant glass flask in middle of the room, and the last one…Akane recognized the pistons and the platform. She knew that's where she almost had died.

_So I got knocked down into a coma when ascending through these halls, eh?_

-"Ogata-san, didn't you notice? There are only thirteen execution rooms"- Sawashiro pointed. Akane realized that it was true, four plus four plus five. There should be fifteen or so, maybe even sixteen. Did I miss something?

**Execution Rooms**

_Deep into the shelter there are thirteen rooms intended for the executions, each one with something relating it to a graduate._

Akane returned to Monobear's Office, and found a clock. She didn't remember the exact time the trial had ended, but she calculated there were a little more than forty minutes left. It was also 2:00 PM. Seeing the time gave her another pang of hunger and a reminder she should use as little energy as possible.

-…Akane-chan! Akane-chan!"- She heard far away. Exiting the office, she crashed against Yukio, who had been running.

-"Ow! What happened? Is somebody hurt?!"- Yukio really seemed to be in a hurry, but Yukio shook his head while trying to regain his breath. When he finally was able to talk, he wheezed.

-"Akane-chan…come with me…you won't believe it…"- and with that, he started to drag her to the fifth section.

They walked quickly through the Hallway Museum, getting to the end where the steel door she had seen was now opened, and a long stairwell was found. It descended for a few minutes until Akane saw that once another steel door indeed had been opened. Now a big amount of junk and scrap and varied trash had spilled all over the floor. It was as if Yukio had needed to make a path to enter the room behind it. The two graduates carefully treaded over the trash until they got to a big room.

Akane looked around. It was more like a dumpster, there were obscene amounts of trash and scrap. –"Is this all? A junkyard?"- Akane asked aloud, disappointed. Her companion said that he had spent a good amount of time putting away the junk, as when he got there, a mountain of trash had literally blocked the path. It was obvious that the door had been covered by junk.

Yukio continued pulling her through the mountains of trash until they got to a point where it was less cluttered. At the end of it there were two harnesses. Yukio quickly commented he had put them apart when he found them around, in case they needed him to carry stuff.

-"But carry stuff where? We got hands, Yukio-kun. Wouldn't that be enough?"- Akane asked.

Yukio pointed to a door which was open, and beyond it there were several bars embedded into the wall, forming a ladder ascending onto the darkness above. The end was so high that she couldn't see it. –"Where does it lead?"-

-"Let's go. You'll see. Have enough energy for it?"-

Akane nodded, determined to find what was so important that Yukio felt the need to race around to bring her here. Grasping the ladder, both of them started ascending.

It turned monotonous quickly, and soon turned into an automatic movement. The more they ascended, the more intrigued Akane got. How deep into the ground where they?

-"If you get tired tell me, Akane-chan, and we'll rest. But make sure you don't fall"-

-"I can continue"-

Akane had no idea how long they had been ascending, but just when she was about to complain of the time they were wasting, she saw something resembling a trapdoor above her. Light was shining through it, although obviously an artificial light, it represented something positive. Maye what was up there was good!

The Chemist reached the end of the ladder, and stayed on the floor, gasping for breath slightly. Yukio followed her, but he didn't stay on the ground. Instead, he stood up, signaling around. –"Akane-chan, look around and tell me what you see"-

Akane obeyed. She stood up and saw a small room, mostly empty. On one side she saw what seemed to be an incinerator, with a good amount of ashes. On the other side, there was a shutter, and beyond it, Akane could see a door, and a section of a hallway. Everything had a sense of familiarity, strangely. –"It's curious…I feel I have been here before"-

-"I couldn't believe it, Akane-chan. We do have been here before. Don't you recognize it?"-

-"…Should I? What place is this?"-

Yukio grasped the shutter, sighing. –"I suppose it's logical you don't remember this place. It's not that outstanding, and it did take me a while before I realized it"-

-"Again, what place is this? You do make it seem like we have been here!"-

-"We're into a Trash Room, but we're not in the shelter anymore"- the Assistant stated. Akane didn't quite understand his affirmation, until Yukio expanded it and inadvertently made Akane's soul jump. Just a few words did that:

-"We're inside Hope's Peak right now"-


	39. Chapter 6: The Angels, the Devils and the Humans - Abnormal Days II

-"Hope's Peak? The shelter is connected to Hope's Peak?!"-

Akane couldn't believe that all this time the shelter they were trapped in was related to Hope's Peak in any way. Yukio nodded, unsure of what the meaning of the connection.

-"I think that the shelter was part of Hope's Peak in the past. The steel door down there was covered in junk and the shelter showed some age in some places, so I don't think the shelter was a part of our school when we studied here"-

-"Then the Mastermind or the Future Foundation must have known about the shelter and somehow got their hands on it"-

-"That's true, but it's very good that this is connected to Hope's Peak. We have an alternative way to escape"- the Assistant shook the shutter blocking the way, showing it wasn't sturdy –"If we can break or remove this shutter, we'll escape"-

-"Monobear will make us go into the trial room. He won't let us escape from that"-

-"I do agree. I wouldn't be surprised if the Mastermind let us enter here to taunt us about how there's an escape route and we can't use it"- Yukio said bitterly –"But we can't let that discourage us. Leave it in my hands, Akane-chan. If we're lucky, I'll have everything ready to escape. Let's return"-

**Hope's Peak**

_The shelter is connected to the school. It has been hinted that the shelter used to be part of the school, but was abandoned for some reason_

-"The Mastermind is grossly underestimating us. Do you think Kudo-kun would do that?"- Akane asked. Yukio shrugged, and started to descend, followed by Akane.

-"Maybe in all his work as a philanthropist he started to have contempt for humanity. I don't know, but Akane-chan, once we're back into the shelter don't mention anything about a possible escape"-

-"But we should tell the others…"-

-"The Mastermind has ways to know our location and listen to us, remember? Our IDs"- Yukio said. Akane would have facepalmed if she weren't grasping the ladder. How could she have forgotten about that?

-"Hope's Peak is out of the range, right?"-

-"I'm sure it is. Now come on, we don't have much time left. Reunite the rest and find out what they found. And one thing more"- at that point, Yukio reached into his pocket and passed Akane his ID –"Take this. I can't let the Mastermind to track my movements"-

-"But didn't Monobear say that he'd punish anybody who didn't keep the ID? Punishment means execution…"-

-"I know very well what the punishment entails. Just take it and trust that I'll know to take care of myself, alright? And don't even think of mentioning it, either"- Akane reluctantly took Yukio's ID, hoping that the Assistant would be okay.

**IDs**

_The electronic IDs, besides opening doors, also allow the Mastermind to track a graduate's movements and spy on the conversations_

-"Also take this recorder. Good thing I had one. I recorded a few generic words in there, try to use it to make the Mastermind think I'm there"- He passed Akane the recorder, and didn't say another word until they were done with the ladder.

When they got to the pit they had come from, Akane looked at her clock. There were barely ten minutes left. Starting to get anxious, she ran towards the first section without even bothering to inform Yukio. The Assistant watched her go, supposing that there must have been something important to make her run like that.

The Chemist barely got into the third section before being breathless. Luckily for her, Toyotomi and Yamaguchi were there, carrying a bunch of folders. –"Ogata-san?"- Seeing how Akane wasn't in conditions to reply, Toyotomi gave Yamaguchi his folders and passed Akane's arms over his shoulder.

-"Everybody…into the Garden"- Akane managed to gasp. Toyotomi left Akane in the Garden and went to reunite the rest of the graduates while Yamaguchi stayed with her.

-"What did you find, Yamaguchi-san"- Akane asked once she got enough breath for it. The Fashion Designer searched in her pocket and showed her two objects. One being the list Akane had given her, the other being a small key.

-"This is the only object I found worth bringing here. It was in Chiba-san's room, under the mattress"-

-"Under the mattress?"- Akane hadn't even thought of searching there –"Wow, that's a strange place to search in"- she commented with a small smile. Yamaguchi laughed sheepishly

-"I had to find something good. This is our last investigation"- And with that, the two women waited for the rest of the graduates. Strangely, despite the situation,both felt more or less at peace, knowing they had done a good effort to find the truth.

And that was enough to soothe most regrets.

-"Got a pen?"- Akane asked, remembering she had to warn the others about Yukio, and to not to say anything about his absence. Yamaguchi rummaged in her coat, finding one and passing Akane one of the documents in the folder. Akane wrote in large letters 'Pretend Yukio is here. Don't ask why, do it'. Yamaguchi wondered what was up with that, but since she trusted Akane to know what she was doing, she didn't say anything.

Toyotomi returned, with Hikasa and Kudo. He was going to say that he couldn't find Yukio anywhere, but Akane managed to show him what she had written. Just when she saw Kudo she realized that if Kudo was the Mastermind, then it was over and he'd know there was something odd with Yukio's absence. The Philanthropist narrowed his eyes in suspicion but didn't comment.

-"Did any of you find anything?"- Akane asked –"Yukio-kun?"- Obviously, nobody replied –"That's a no. What about you two?"- She asked Kudo and Hikasa. Both nodded.

-"I did find some stuff in the trash"- and with that, he showed a heap more of Future Foundation envelopes, with letters inside, and passed them to Akane. Toyotomi gave her the envelopes that had been passed around in the trial. –"How many are there?"-

-"I count…thirteen. Again with thirteen"- Akane muttered, and started checking the names. As expected, most names that had been missing the first time had been found now, but there were three left, and she couldn't say she didn't seen it coming –"I see"-

-"Which names are missing?"- Hikasa inquired.

-"The only names not found were Kudo, Chiba and Toyotomi"- Akane pressed a button on Yukio's recorder, making it say _'Interesting'_

-"Couldn't they be in the compactor?"- Yamaguchi suggested.

-"No, they can't be. I helped him to check, there's no way we missed them"- Hikasa replied confidently, but rubbed his arms as if he had something sticky on them –"Either way I'm not going to stick my hands in trash again"-

-"Again those three names. Future Foundation agents, definitely"-

-"No, maybe my envelope is missing because somebody took it!"- Kudo tried to defend himself, but a glare and a question from Hikasa stopped him from continuing that reasoning.

-"Why the hell would somebody do that?"- Kudo didn't know what to say.

**Future Foundation Envelopes (Update)**

_The letters that summoned us all to the shelter. They're signed by one 'Masamune Toyotomi'. There are only thirteen letters. Kudo, Chiba and Toyotomi (Curtis) doesn't have letters_

-"This is starting to look bad for you, buddy. Again, this is your chance to let us out"- Hikasa once again threatened, grabbing Kudo's neck with both hands.

-"Stop that! This doesn't prove that he's the Mastermind"- Akane struggled to make Hikasa let go Kudo's neck –"It doesn't even prove he's a Future Foundation member"-

-"But it does show that he was in the shelter when the letters were sent out"- Yamaguchi argued.

-"Or that Toyotomi-kun or Chiba-san had him near enough to not to warrant a letter. It could mean many things. We can't mark him as the Mastermind just because of this!"-

-"Well, let's leave that aside. Got anything else, Hikasa-kun?"- Toyotomi took again the envelopes, examining the signatures.

-"There's something else we found in the compactor"- Hikasa showed a small notebook –"Does this look familiar to any of you?"-

 _-"Intriguing"-_ Yukio's recorder said, but other than that, nobody else recognized the notebook. The Weightlifter opened it on the first page –"Then maybe this'll help jog your memories"-.

Neatly written on the last line of the page, there was a sentence. 'If lost, return to Mishio Matsukaze'

-"Something by the Detectuve? Why was it in the trash?"- Toyotomi wondered, but Yamaguchi seemed to have realized what it was.

-"The notebook! The notebook Miyata-kun had gotten rid of!"-

That's when Akane remembered it. Matsukaze, the day of his death, had mentioned he'd be leaving a notebook with clues and deductions about the Mastermind's identity! But Miyata had found the locker it was in and had thrown it into the trash.

The notebook had been thought to have been destroyed, so nobody bothered to look for it, but it didn't look damaged at all. Akane excitedly asked Hikasa to pass it to her, eager to see what the ex-SHSL Detective had written. Whatever was in there surely was valuable!

That's why when she saw it was completely empty, the disappointment was strong.

-"…there's nothing. Only the name, and that's all…"-

She checked every single page, trying to find the truth, but everything was brand new, as if it had never been touched –"Miyata-kun! He must have torn off the pages with the information"- she muttered, passing it to Yamaguchi –"Or…it could be that this isn't Matsukaze's notebook"-

-"Nope, I'm positive this is the one. When I talked to him that day, shortly before his death, he showed it to me. I didn't see the contents, but I do recognize it. It's his notebook"- Hikasa stated –"That's why when we saw it in the trash we took it. It was disappointing to see Miyata got rid of the deductions, though"-

-"Wait, did you say he had it with him the day of the murder? It wasn't in the locker?"-

-"Of course! It's more likely Miyata-kun found the notebook if Matsukaze-kun had it with him than if he checked lockers randomly. We should have guessed that before"- Kudo realized

-"Guys, hold that thought. I just counted all the pages here…all pages are complete. No page has been torn off"- Toyotomi, who had taken the notebook, informed –"Maybe the deductions themselves were written on a separate piece of paper, stuck in this notebook, that'd explain it"-

-"Or maybe we have the wrong notebook. Could Matsukaze-kun have prepared a fake deductions notebook to fool Miyata-kun and the Mastermind?"- Yamaguchi wondered

-"I wouldn't put that pass him. Matsukaze-kun was a real smart man. Did you find something like a notebook in his room?"- Akane asked. The Fashion Designer informed that although she did find several notebooks, all of them were blank as well, only having Matsukaze's name in the first page.

-"Was any of them similar to this one?"-

-"No, all of them had different colors. None of them was even close to this tone"-

-"So, the conclusion is…that his deductions are still missing. We don't have more time to search for them"- Toyotomi gave Hikasa the notebook back –"Thank you for your efforts, Hikasa-kun"-

-"Yeah, what an effort"- the Weightlifter wasn't happy that what he had found didn't help in any way.

**Blank Notebook**

_A notebook that belonged to Matsukaze. Brand new. Was believed to contain Matsukaze's deductions about the Mastermind_

_-"Let me see that"-_ Akane had thought it had been too long without Yukio saying anything, so she pressed the recorder, and then asked Yamaguchi to inform what she had found –"I know you had said there was one thing only, but does everybody else know?"-

-"Only Toyotomi-kun knows too. Okay, Ogata-san had given me the list she had found in Chiba-san's room, so I went into each bedroom, to check if there was something that wasn't on the list. There was only one thing: a small key I found in Chiba-san's room"-

-"A key? What does it open, one of the doors around here?"- Kudo asked.

-"No. It opens the filing cabinet we found in the Fourth Section. The truth is that not even Monobear could open it"- Toyotomi informed –"Can you believe that? Something that was beyond Monobear's influence!"-

-"Toyotomi-kun and I met and I gave him the key, so we checked the contents of that file cabinet, and got all these folders"- Yamaguchi piled the folders in front of her.

-"How many are there?"- The Philanthropist leaned forward to grab one.

-"…there are fifteen folders"-

-"Fifteen?"- Akane quickly counted them, confirming that it was true –"There's something curious going on here. Have any of you noticed how nothing of what we have found today reaches sixteen? The Hallway Museum has fourteen expositions. There are thirteen letters. There are fifteen flashdrives. There are thirteen execution rooms. There's nothing that has sixteen elements!"-

-"Besides the graduates, the podiums in the trial room and our bedrooms, that is"- Kudo replied –"But what as that about flashdrives and executions?"-

-"Oh, true, I haven't told you guys about that. Let's get done with these files first, okay?"-

**Small Key**

_A key that opens the file cabinet in the fourth section. Found in Chiba's room. Doesn't appear in the List of Belongings_

-"So, what are those files?"-

-"…These files are from Hope's Peak. That much is obvious"- Kudo, who had been examining it, informed –"These are lists of classes"-

-"Indeed, they are. All those folders contain information about a Hope's Peak generation. Yamaguchi and I have taken the files related to all of us, but we found files about each generation that has passed through our school"- Toyotomi confirmed

-"There are also files about each one of us, the usual information. Nothing to note about them"- Yamaguchi added.

_-"Golly!"-_

-"What's in those files that can help us solve some of our mysteries?"- Hikasa inquired. Toyotomi took one of the files, his face turning into a gesture of sadness.

-"…It's an ugly thing, but…these files seems authentic. What they say must be true"-

-"What do they say?"-

-"…Most of us graduates…are the only graduate of our respective classes left alive. In most of our classes, every single one of our classmates is dead"-

-"Dead?!"- Akane screamed –"All of them?"- She remembered her friends from her class, and although she had lost contact with them long ago, she hoped they'd be okay. To hear that they were dead was quite a shock for her.

-"Yes. There are only two generations with more than one survivor"- Toyotomi continued, and when prompted to say which ones, he took a folder, bringing out a list. The list had crossed names, with only two exceptions –"This is the 74th Class of Hope's Peak. The person in this shelter who belongs to this class is none other than Akane Ogata"-

-"…my class? Who's left alive too?"- Akane grasped the sliver of hope Toyotomi had presented.

-"According to this list, one Mitsuhiko Hikari, ex-SHSL Hunter, is alive"-

Akane sighed. Mitsuhiko Hikari had never been in her list of friends. –"What is the other generation with more than one survivor?"-

-"Class 75th. Masaru Miyata's class. There are seven survivors"-

-"If there are seven survivors, why was he chosen? Anybody else would have been a better fit!"- Hikasa grumbled.

-"Yeah, it was obvious from the beginning that Miyata-kun wasn't much of a team player...despite his talent"- Kudo agreed.

-"Whatever. We won't know for now, but there's something else that is curious"- Toyotomi said –"Here, I compiled a list of the classes. I think that what's missing here will be glaringly obvious"-

Everybody read the list, expressing their confusion when they saw whose name was missing. Finally Akane had the list in her hands, and read it.

"Masaru Miyata, SHSL CEO. 75th Class

Akane Ogata, SHSL Chemist, 74th Class

Mika Yamaguchi, SHSL Fashion Designer, 73th Class

Aya Sawashiro, SHSL Medium. 72th Class

Masashi Sakurai, SHSL Good Luck, 71th Class

Hoshio Saitou, SHSL Salesman. 70th Class

Chihiro Toriumi, SHSL Private Tutor, 69th Class

Reiji and Yukio Ohmoto, SHSL Law Master and Law Assistant, 68th Class

Kaiji Kudo, SHSL Philanthropist, 67th class

Tomoe Chiba, SHSL Strategist, 66th class

Masamune Toyotomi, SHSL Prosthetic Makeup Artist 64th Class

Saburou Hikasa, SHSL Weightlifter, 63th Class

Madoka Nakai, SHSL Film Maker. 62th Class

Takeshi Toyogushi, SHSL Stuntsman. 61th Class"

-"Why is Matsukaze-kun's name missing?"-

-"How do you expect us to know? But it's quite a curious tidbit. Is Matsukaze-kun missing from any other thing?"-

-"No, I don't remember…although…"- Akane wasn't sure if she had seen an execution room for Matsukaze. It was possible the room with nothing in it could be his. But again, there were a few other graduates who she hadn't seen an execution for.

-"It's probable he used a different name in whatever generation he is in, for incognito purpose, who knows. Notice how the 65th class isn't in the list? Maybe he's in that one"- Yamaguchi passed Akane the folder with the information about that class. It had two survivors, and only one was male. Akane read aloud the name in it.

-"Matthew McCoy? Here it says he's Australian. Matsukaze-kun didn't ever strike me as Australian"-

-"Yeah, but check the initials and the sounds. Matthew McCoy…Mishio MAtsuKAze…it's possible, isn't it?"- Toyotomi emphasized the sounds of Matsukaze's family name, making his point.

-"I suppose it is"- Akane conceded –"And this Madoka Nakai is Ginchiyo-san, isn't she?"-

-"Here it says Madoka Nakai was SHSL Film Maker. She did tell me that was her name"- Hikasa confirmed –"I love her name"-

-"Nakai…sounds familiar to me"- Toyotomi deviated further the discussion. They had stated to talk about stuff not entirely related to their quest to find the Mastermind –"I think I know a Nakai. Didn't Ginchiyo-san say she had a sister?"-

-"She did! Her sister's name was…Shizuka. Yeah, Shizuka"- Akane remembered.

Toyotomi was silent for a moment. He was thoughtful, mulling over something –"She had said her sister was missing and she thought she was dead. Damn, if only Ginchiyo-san knew before she died…"-

-"Knew what? Are you saying you know here her sister is?"- Yamaguchi asked.

-"Yes. There's a Shizuka Nakai in the Future Foundation"-

For a moment nobody said a thing. It was clear what they were thinking. Finally Kudo said it aloud –"If she had known that then she could have died without that regret"-

Toyotomi didn't take kindly those words –"How was I supposed to know that was her sister? I didn't even know Ginchiyo-san's name!"-

-"Nobody is blaming you. Calm down"- Yamaguchi took the folders back again –"So that's what we found…was it useful?"-

-"I think so…"- Akane said, unsure.

**Hope's Peak's Files**

_A bunch of archive belonging to Hope's Peak, containing information about all the generations. Almost all graduates are the last survivors of their generations, Miyata and Ogata being the exceptions. Matsukaze's name is missing. Ginchiyo's name is Madoka Nakai. Chiba had the key to the file cabinet containing the files. Monobear couldn't have touched the files in any way_

-"So what did you find, Ogata-san? You were checking Monobear's office, weren't you?"- Toyotomi asked, leaning onto the wall.

Akane talked about everything she had found and her thoughts concerning them. There were some suspicious glances towards Toyotomi when his makeup was mentioned, petitions to get their memories back when the machine and the flashdrives were revealed to exist, and they all puzzled over the letter found in the vent. Each graduate in the Garden tried to find the meaning of that letter, but none of them knew what it meant.

Kudo's reaction was especially confusing. His eyes showed worry, but it was also clear he had no idea what that letter was. Despite that, he didn't say anything to voice his concerns.

-"So…how does things look, Ogata-san? Do we have a chance to find the Mastermind?"- Toyotomi inquired.

Akane thought for a moment. Everybody had found evidence that did answer a few questions, but also created new ones. Luckily, some of the clues did point towards a specific person: Volkos. She was rather sure that whoever Volkos was, surely would be the Mastermind.

And leaving that aside, Kudo was the prime suspect for Mastermind. If he was Volkos then it was settled. But how to find out? Nothing in the shelter had helped to answer that. But even without evidence about Kudo being Volkos, there was proof of Kudo being heavily involved in the events that created the game in the shelter…if Chiba and Toyotomi weren't the Masterminds, then Kudo was.

It was clear as that.

-"I'd say we have good chances"-

-"Is there anything else to discuss? We have…what, five minutes left?"- Kudo looked at his clock.

-"I think we should make clear that the week erased from our memories were. Repeat what you had said about that, Ogata-san"- Yamaguchi requested.

-"Hmmmm…apparently we did get called with the purpose of doing something against one group. It was going to be hard, and required a lot of willpower"- Akane said, remembering how Yukio had asked her if she was nervous –"Chiba-san definitely was the one pulling the strings there, she was on that podium"-

-"Chiba-san was a Future Foundation agent, so chances are that we'd help them against anything that stopped their goals"- Hikasa said

-"The Future Foundation has as its purpose fight despair and restore the world. It's clear there's one target: SHSL Despair! We must have been planning something to counter them. We were the Committee for a Better Tomorrow, after all"- Toyotomi concluded.

-"So we have a lot of reasons to suppose that during the week erased from our memories, we formed some sort of plan to fight against SHSL Despair"-

-"Then…SHSL Despair would be the ones to have reasons to erase our memories, don't they?"- Kudo pointed. Akane made a gesture to tell him to shut up, and spoke with a matter-of-fact tone.

-"Monobear stated that there was only one SHSL Despair member in the shelter: Reiji Ohmoto. If we suppose SHSL Despair erased our memories, then Reiji would be the one to do it. But I doubt he'd have the password to enter the place with the machine!"-

-"If SHSL Despair didn't, then Diavolos Avante must be the culprits"- Toyotomi smirked –"Simple as that"-

**Missing Week**

_The graduates, led by the Future Foundation, created a plan to fight against SHSL Despair_

-"I have always wondered…what's the deal with Diavolos Avante? Tell us about them"- Hikasa glanced at Kudo, who couldn't look at him at the eyes.

-"Okay, Diavolos Avante is…a group that doesn't have further goals than their own benefit. They want to rebuild the world, but in a way that allows its members to hold positions of power around the world. In a nutshell: world dominance in its purest sense"-

-"Who's their leader? Or is it unknown?"-

-"We know that the organization is led by a Main Board, composed of four members…all of them with a code name different to the rest of the band. Did you know Diavolos Avante uses names of demons as codenames? Lame, huh?"- Toyotomi sneered with contempt. It was obvious he thought of them as mere annoyances.

-"Vol…Vorudemoto is a Main Board member. Miyata-kun had said that. What do you know about that person?"- Akane had closed her eyes, in deep thought

-"I don't remember much about that person. As you all may guess, my memories related to Vorudemoto has been deleted"-

-"So you don't remember anything?"- Yamaguchi was disappointed

-"…I…I think that Vorudemoto is male…but I'm not sure. My memory is fuzzy. But the main point about them is that they seek to rebuild the world the way they want to, and they'd do anything they wanted to achieve it"-

-"So they're an evil organization with no redeeming traits. Seems manageable"- Hikasa summarized, standing up –"I think it's time to go to the trial room"-

-"Uh, they do have a point that we considered remarkable: their leader, a man known as Veritas, actually cares and tries to protect his followers. That's why so many people have joined them, because they feel that under his wing they can achieve something and be protected at the same time. He also will deal with any traitors. Their people trust him greatly."-

**Diavolos Avante**

_A group led by one Veritas. They hate traitors and people who hurt them. Has a Main Boar of four members._

-"Oh!"- Yamaguchi gasped. She covered her mouth, horrified –"I…I think I may know why we're locked in here"-

-"Save it for the trial. Let's get over there before Monobear call us…"- Kudo was interrupted by the speakers.

-"Time is over! Did you all find enough evidence to solve all the mysteries? I can't wait to see how you lot try to answer everything. Get to the trial room, and anybody who doesn't go will get killed. You have five minutes"-

-"…yeah, he did. Say it in the trial"- the Philanthropist left the Garden. Toyotomi picked up the files and everything that had been left on the floor, taking them for the trial. Akane didn't move, until she was alone.

The truth is that now that the time of fighting back was definitely there, she was starting to feel very nervous. The determination that had been in her heart had vanished. After all, there were sixteen suspects…and only one chance. Oh, it wasn't even guaranteed one of the graduates was the Mastermind!

How were they supposed to find out the Mastermind in only one try?

She didn't feel ready, wishing there was more time. What was she going to do now?

-"There's nothing else to do. You have to get in there with your chin up and show the Mastermind that you and your friends are going to triumph"-

Matsukaze had sat to her side, and he wasn't alone. Sawashiro, Ginchiyo, Toriumi and Chiba were around as well, trying their best to put their most positive faces –"There is enough evidence to make a conclusion. Whether it's right or wrong will be tested in the trial"- the dead Tutor said, proudly.

-"But if we get it wrong then we're as good as dead. The Mastermind will leave us locked in here, and if we don't starve to death first, the rioters will kill us. Our chances are…minuscule"-

-"Don't you trust your friends? Don't you think that between the six of you, you'll unmask the Mastermind and…"- Sawashiro was interrupted by an anxious reminder.

-"Kudo-kun may be the Mastermind! There's a lot of stuff pointing towards him! If he's the Mastermind then he'll try to mislead us. And if he isn't, how am I supposed to know who is the Mastermind? It could be anybody else!"-

-"It's a risk you'll need to take. Trust your friends, but don't trust their words blindly. Evidence is everything that matters here"- the Detective stated. It was to be expected her image of Matsukaze would be the one to talk like that.

The Chemist sighed, resigning herself to the risk of failing. It wasn't like she had any other option –"So why are you all here? Just to try to cheer me up?"-

-"It's our last meeting, Ogata-san. We won't see each other again. Your little skull is finally healed"- Chiba said, smiling awkwardly –"So we…we, as your mind and subconscious, wanted to make sure you understood a few things"-

-"A few things?"-

-"First than all, you either win here, or you die. And you know very well you won't accept death, just like that. We're you, after all!"- Ginchiyo said with bravado. Akane couldn't avoid smiling at her tone.

-"Yeah, I supposed you'd say that. Anything else?"- The truth is that Akane wasn't really in mood for empty words of consolation, especially if they were what she wanted to tell herself

-"We do have something else: during your stay in the shelter, hasn't some stuff got your attention? Aren't there pieces of evidence that you didn't ever understand very well?"-

-"We're here to remind you of them. Who knows…they could come useful"- Chiba supported Ginchiyo's words. Akane accepted to listen to them. The five dead graduates made a row, and one by one they talked.

Sawashiro was the one closest to Akane. –"Night after the first motive. A group of graduates took part of an improvised séance, leading to a revelation from the dead. Remember this?

"Don't leave your personal belongings outside your bedroom / Be wary of that one that pretends to be your friend but only seeks your downfall / Let the black king help you"-

Akane recognized those words. They had been Sawashiro's message from the dead, back when nobody had died yet –"There's no big mystery there. My lab coat, Saitou and his tendency to kiss ass, and the black king switchblade that killed you"-

-"Are you completely sure? If I mention it, it means it has been nagging you for a while already. You think it may have some meaning to your actual situation"- Akane hadn't thought not even once about that since the first murder. Maybe it was her subconscious, she didn't know.

**Medium Session: Lines Received**

_Don't leave your personal belongings outside your bedroom / Be wary of that one that pretends to be your friend but only seeks your downfall / Let the black king help you_

-"Second murder investigation, Monobear's office. You found a notebook with a couple pages, which didn't end meaning much to the murder. You have wondered if they may be significant now, especially since Volkos has a good chance of being the Mastermind"- Matsukaze said –"Keep those pages in mind"-

**Matsukaze's Notepad**

_In the first page: The computer coding jotted down in the first page of Matsukaze 's notepad. It 's theorized that it makes Monobear kills whoever says the word 'Volkos '. In the second page: Just the word 'Volkos' written in the middle of a page._

-"Okay, next"-

-"Third murder investigation. Remember how there was a blackout and Kudo was the one who solved that problem? Haven't you been wondering how he managed to run around in absolute darkness into a section that had opened less than a day before?"- Ginchiyo said. Akane had to admit that was a pretty good point. Not anybody would have known the layout of the third section easily enough to run through it while the blackout.

**Blackout**

_Twenty minutes before Sakurai's death, there was a sudden blackout. It lasted around five minutes. Kudo was the one who ended the blackout._

After Ginchiyo was done presenting her evidence, Toriumi stepped forward. –"Ogata, you should have thought more about this. It wasn't even related to the fourth murder. It should have been obvious there was something strange going on!"- She scolded –"Fourth investigation, right before the trial, you found a kitchen knife under the infirmary bed Yukio had been laying on"-

-"…Oh. I think I remember…but what's strange? Somebody left it there"-

The Tutor groaned. Akane facepalmed when she realized it asn't logical to expect anybody to go leaving kitchen knives lying around under the infirmary beds. –"Right, why could that have been there?"-

-"I think you overlooked something: the bed it was under wasn't only Yukio's bed. It was also the same bed you had been on, when you were in coma"-

That reminder made Akane feel very strange. She really disliked any potential reasons as to the presence of that knife…

**Kitchen Knife**

_A knife found under a bed in the infirmary room. Ogata had been on there until she awoke. Afterwards, during the investigation of the fourth murder, Yukio was on it_

-"This is the last evidence we can provide you"- Chiba sighed and talked with a resigned tone –"My confession: I clearly marked Kudo as the Mastermind with the reasoning that, since we both were Future Foundation agents and the Future Foundation were the ones to lock us in here and cause the game, then we're a duo of Masterminds"-

-"But I doubt you were a Mastermind…"-

-"And would that clear Kudo's name? No, it wouldn't. My memories are clear: we both are members and I didn't have a single doubt he was a Mastermind. As I see it, if you want to prove Kudo is the Mastermind, first you'll have to prove beyond any doubt two things: That Kudo is a Future Foundation member, and that he had ill intents while his stay in here"-

Akane nodded. It seemed logical and correct, and the truth is that thanks to the evidence reminded to her by her mental images, she was starting to be sure that Kudo was the Mastermind.

**Chiba's Confession**

_In a nutshell: -" I clearly marked Kudo as the Mastermind with the reasoning that, since we both were Future Foundation agents and the Future Foundation were the ones to lock us in here and cause the game, then we're a duo of Masterminds"-_

Akane stood up, feeling somewhat more confident, thanked her dead friends for the old evidence. The five mental images smiled comfortingly. –"You can do it. Don't do it just for you and your friends. Do it for us too"- Ginchiyo said.

-"I promise I'm going to make sure the Mastermind gets his just punishment for what he did to all of us"- the Chemist said solemnly.

-"We know you will. You already have the evidence, now it's matter of linking everything and solving Monobear's questions"- Sawashiro said.

-"Now we'll fade away dramatically while you look at us all teary-eyed, wondering if we were really inside your head all the time or if we're really the souls of your dead friends"- Chiba commented, trying to cheer Akane further. Toriumi groaned grumpily.

-"Before you even wonder that, which I hope you weren't even planning: we are no more than the byproduct of heavy trauma on your head. Now go, or else Monobear is going to have a field day killing the only graduate capable of catching the Mastermind"-

-"Yukio is a very capable investigator…"- Akane started saying, but Toriumi shouted "Just go!", and gestured to the door of the Garden. Akane ran away, not turning back. Not that there was even anything to see, after all, there had been nobody in there besides her, in the first place. Sure, she was going to miss her dead friends, but she was also relieved there was no lasting head trauma. That's the last thing she needed in her life.

When Akane got into the hall, she stumbled upon Yukio. –"Akane-chan, quick"- he hurriedly extended his hand, looking around him in a state of panic. Akane understood what had him in that state. He couldn't go into the trial room without it, otherwise, Monobear and the Mastermind would notice he didn't have his ID. As soon as Yukio had his ID back, he was much calmer. –"Sorry for not asking you before. You seemed busy in there"- he commented while they ran to the trial room"-

-"Busy?"-

-"Yeah, you were talking alone. You have done that a lot these days, get your head checked"-

When they got to the entrance of the lobby to the trial room, Monobear stomped out of the trial room, clearly annoyed –"What's wrong with both of you?! Everybody else is already in there!"-

-"Sorry, we were…"-

-"I don't care what you were doing, get in there!"- Monobear shouted, pushing them into the trial room, and closing the heavy doors. He hadn't done that before, in the past five trials. The message was clear: none of you will be getting out of here.

_Even if we catch the Mastermind, will we let out?_

Akane got on her podium. She was starting to nervously sweat already, and the rest of the graduates weren't any calmer. _It's not worth it to think about that right now. We must focus on catching the Mastermind and solving everything. Only one chance._

_For me._

_For my five friends who are alive._

_And for my ten dead friends._

_One among them is the Mastermind, that much is clear, but until I demonstrate who it is, whether it's Kudo-kun or somebody else, I must think of them as my friends._

-"Aren't all of you excited? It's the final stop of our game! So let's make sure it counts"- Monobear proclaimed hammily, and shouted the last few words:

-"And now the last trial of this game of mutual killing begins!"-


	40. Chapter 6: The Angels, the Devils and the Humans - Trial I

-"Remember that you bastards have one single chance to find all answers. If you fail to pinpoint the Mastermind and everything else, you'll be locked in this trial room until your deaths!"-

-"And if we guess correctly?"- Hikasa asked glumly. It was obvious he wasn't expecting a satisfying answer

-"Then I'll be merciful and allow you all to stay in the rest of the shelter until the end of your lives"- Monobear replied with a cheerful tone, as if he were talking about walks in the park and not of prolonged starving or the people outside barging in and shooting them to death.

-"All in all, we're doomed. The least we can do is play by his rules and use any advantage we may find"- Toyotomi resigned himself, but kept a determined façade –"What were our questions, again?"-

-"In order to gain the access to the shelter, you'll need to answer ten simple questions"- The questions appeared on the screen where the executions were normally shown.

**How is The Future Foundation involved in this mutual killing game?**

**How is Diavolos Avante involved in this mutual killing game?**

**How is SHSL Despair involved in this mutual killing game?**

**Why were you sixteen chosen to be part of the game?**

**What's this shelter, exactly?**

**Why is the mutual killing game happening?**

**What happened in the week that was erased from your memories?**

**Is everybody here who they say they are?**

**How did the Mastermind get access to your memories and your deepest secrets?**

**Who is the Mastermind?**

-"Are any of you willing to try filling in the answers?"-

-"Can we correct our answers later if necessary?"- Yamaguchi raised her hand and asked. Monobear shrugged, and replied: -"Sure, why not?"-

-"Okay, let's start with…the fifth one"- Yukio put forth a very crude drawing of the shelter –"I should have mentioned it before, but I didn't because...there wasn't enough time, but I found out something important about this place: this shelter is connected to Hope's Peak"-

The four graduates who didn't know or didn't remember anything expressed their surprise and shock at that statement in predictable ways. Once Yamaguchi stopped screeching, asking for explanations, and Kudo wasn't as pale anymore, the latter spoke. –"It could be a way out! We need to finish this trial and get to Hope's Peak"-

-"No, it won't work. I won't explain right now, but it's not possible to escape through there…for now"-

-"What do you mean with 'for now?'"- Monobear asked. For once, he was paying close attention to the discussion.

-"The only thing separating us from the outside world could be a shutter. If the entrance of Hope's Peak is open, then that shutter is the only obstacle, and we got one hulking mass of muscle there"- Yukio pointed at Hikasa with his thumb –"Need I explain more?"-

-"Yukio-kun, those shutters may not be as weak as you may them sound…"- Hikasa said, but was interrupted by Monobear once again falling onto the floor, flopping around like a dying fish –"…what the hell?"-

-"He's malfunctioning! This could be a chance to escape"- Kudo quickly walked to the trial room entrance and tried to pry the words open, until his fingers ached. Monobear finally stood up, looked around for a moment, and saw Kudo. He menacingly approached Kudo.

-"You! Get back in there. I won't repeat it again"- It was the first time anybody had heard him talking in such a commanding tone. Even when Monobear was threatening them, he always kept a mocking undertone, but now there was no trace of it. Kudo understood that if he made a wrong move, things could get messy for him, so he sheepishly returned to his podium. Monobear glanced at the questions on the screen, and ordered everybody to answer them.

-"Uh, as I was saying…I say this as the answer to the fifth question: **This shelter is a part of Hope's Peak that was abandoned at some point into the past** "- Yukio's words were typed under the fifth question.

-"And why was it abandoned?"- Monobear asked. Yukio, who wasn't expecting there to be more questions, lost some of his enthusiasm. Just after the fifth question, a new one surfaced. 'Why was this section of Hope's Peak abandoned?'

That new question hit Akane like a stone. Nothing she had seen could indicate the reason it was abandoned. _How are we expected to know?_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Kitchen Knife / Toyogushi's Photography / Diavolos Avante / The Missing Week / Face on the Wall / Missing Memories / Sensors in the Walls / Morgue / IDs_

* * *

KUDO: What part was connected to this shelter?

KUDO: Maybe it could be a clue!

YUKIO: This was connected to the trash pit

YAMAGUCHI: Isn't that deep within the ground?

YAMAGUCHI: That could mean this shelter is from **the early times of Hope's Peak!**

HIKASA: Then it was abandoned because…

HIKASA: … ** _the school turned more modern?_**

YUKIO: The school could have **_lost access to the shelter_** , somehow

TOYOTOMI: Or there was **_a tragedy_** down here…

TOYOTOMI: …and Hope's Peak tried to sweep it under the rug

KUDO: It's a rather comfortable shelter

KUDO: It can't have been **_abandoned long before we got here_**

OGATA: Some stuff in the Locked Section was pretty advanced

TOYOTOMI: Then this shelter maybe…

TOYOTOMI: … ** _wasn't as abandoned as we thought_**

YAMAGUCHI: Do we have something that could at least give us a hint?

* * *

-"A tragedy? That could be possible…"- Akane murmured. Toyotomi, who was the closest to her, heard her words.

-"But I haven't seen anything around that could be hint a tragedy. If anything happened, it must have been long ago"-

-"I think I found a hint. There was this morgue in the Locked Section, yeah? But it had way too many bodies. Ten of us graduates have died but the morgue had little more than forty bodies in it"-

-"Forty?! Why would there be so many corpses?"- Kudo exclaimed

-"I don't know. But what if some sort of accident happened in this shelter long ago, and to hide it from the public Hope's Peak put all the bodies into that morgue?"-

Akane's theory created a buzz of what incident could have caused so many deaths, but nothing worthwhile was defined –"If it was long ago, and the shelter was abandoned, then chances are that those corpses are nothing more than skeletons"- Hikasa said

-"And besides, nothing guarantees the bodies are from long ago. For all we know, Diavolos Avante killed people and stashed them in the morgue a month ago. Nothing proves the bodies are ancient. Did you look at them, Ogata-san?"- Toyotomi pointed and waited for a reply.

Akan made a face of disgust –"Of course not!"- She spat

-"Then it's useless to continue discussing this. We're blocked. Let's get to a different question"-

-"Why were us sixteen chosen for the game? **Because we were here** , I suppose"- Yamaguchi said, the answer appearing below the question. The screen froze for a moment, analyzing it.

-"How sly of you, Yamaguchi-san! But that answer won't be enough"- Monobear said, and a new question sprung 'Technically correct. Rephrasing: Why were you sixteen called to the shelter?'

-"Because we were the last survivors of our groups"- Kudo said.

-"That can't be correct. Ogata-san's group and Miyata-kun's group had more than one survivor. Why were those two summoned here? I think that until we can't find that answer, we can't proceed to answer the fourth question"- Toyotomi countered.

-"Then let's go for the seventh. Do we know what happened during the missing week?"-

-"We do"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**The Missing Week**

* * *

-"What happened during that week is that **we created a plan to fight against SHSL Despair and, possibly, Diavolos Avante as well, but along the way, the Mastermind hijacked everything and the mutual killing started** "- Akane answered.

The answer to that question was typed, and this time the screen filled with a green light. The question and answer disappeared.

-"The answer was correct! So you were conspiring against SHSL Despair, at the very least"- Monobear spoke, as if he were talking to himself. The graduates ignored him, instead focusing on the next question they could answer in that moment.

-"Okay, next! How did the Mastermind get access to our memories and secrets?"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Memory Restoration Machine**

* * *

-"In the Locked Section I found a machine. Monobear confirmed that it was for extracting and inserting one's memories. It's obvious that's how the Mastermind had access to that"-

-"…the Memory Restoration Machine. We, the Future Foundation, confiscated the one Enoshima had used to erase those kids' memories"- Toyotomi commented.

-"Couldn't Diavolos Avante have one of those too?"- Yukio asked.

-"They could, if they had any idea how memories worked. They'd need an excellent neurologist, and an outstanding engineer or mechanic. There's a chance they could"-

-"I think it's more likely the Future Foundation got that machine in here"- Hikasa intervened –"Wasn't it in the Locked Section? Only the Mastermind could have access to that place, so if it was in possession of the supposed good guys, the only conclusion is that a Future Foundation member used it to erase our memories"- he glared at Kudo.

-"Again, I'm not a Future Foundation member, nor the Mastermind!"-

-"Stop that, and let's get this question done. **The Mastermind had access to SHSL Despair's Memory Restoration Machine** "- Yukio stated. The screen received the answer, and soon it was indicated the answer was correct.

To see that two of the ten questions had been answered correctly improved the mood of the graduates, but even with that, they knew very well they had answered the two easiest questions of the bunch. If they wanted to get done with the rest, then they'd have to do a bigger effort.

-"Okay, what should we try now?"-

-"How about the 'why is this happening' question?"- Kudo suggested, receiving the graduates' approval –"I suppose that what the Mastermind means is what's this mutual killing game's objective"-

-"That's difficult to know for sure. If Reiji were the Mastermind it would be quite simple: causing despair. But since the Mastermind is that Diavolos Avante member…it could be a reason we can't even imagine"- Toyotomi said, pessimistic.

-"I know for sure that causing despair isn't the reason for this game"- Much to the graduates' surprise, Monobear had been the one to say that.

-"What do you mean?"-

-"I mean that nobody in Diavolos Avante would even think of causing despair. They strive to rebuild the world, and despair would go against this objective. If any of you thought it was that, then you better reconsider it"- Monobear bared his claws, to emphasize his point.

-"What's going on with you? You have been acting rather strange for a good while already"- Akane said. The bear stood up straight, trying to not to seem affected by the question

-"I haven't been acting strange. Continue with the trial!"-

-"So if causing despair isn't the objective then…what could it be?"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Hope's Peak's Files / Matsukaze's Notebook / Missing Memories / Hallway Museum / Chiba's Confession / Memory Restoration Machine / Letters from the Future Foundation / The People Outside / Shady Flashdrives_

* * *

HIKASA: I'm not convinced **despair isn't related** in any way

HIKASA: There must be despair in their plans, someho

MONOBEAR: You, the musclehead! You'll keep your trap shut, okay?

HIKASA: How does he dare?!

TOYOTOMI: It's more likely this mutual killing game…

TOYOTOMI: …gives them **_an advantage towards the rebuilding_** of the world

YAMAGUCHI: I have thought that it could be because one or more of us…

YAMAGUCHI: … ** _has wronged them_**

KUDO: Didn't Toyotomi-kun mention they are protective of each other?

YUKIO: But there's **no way we could have done that**!

YUKIO: Most of us didn't know about them before the second murder

YAMAGUCHI: Then this game could have happened because…

YAMAGUCHI: …there were Future Foundation members among us

YAMAGUCHI: **_A war between Diavolos Avante and the Future Foundation_**

MONOBEAR: They wouldn't waste time fighting each other

MONOBEAR: **SHSL Despair is a bigger threat** , after all

* * *

-"It could…it could be possible that one of us did do something to Diavolos Avante, but we don't remember it"-

-"You mean during the week we forgot?"- Hikasa asked

-"It could have been before that. Didn't we establish that Monobear took more memories than we thought at first? What if…it was because one or more of us was against Diavolos Avante?"- Akane proposed

-"I find it more likely that they are trying to have their revenge after we tried to plan against them in the first week here in the shelter"- Toyotomi replied –"If Volkos was here, then it's lik…"- he shut up and covered his mouth when he realized he had uttered the person's nickname. For a moment everybody looked at Monobear, horrified, but the bear didn't do anything.

Confused, Monobear shrugged –"What? What did I do now?"-

-"Aren't you going to…to…"- Yukio didn't finish the sentence. If Monobear had forgotten, somehow, Yukio wasn't going to remind him! Toyotomi didn't deserve a horrible death.

-"To what?"-

-"To kill him, what else?"- Kudo asked, eliciting groans from the rest of the graduates –"What?"-

-"Why would I kill him?"- Monobear seemed genuinely confused, and he wasn't the only one. Yukio and Akane didn't understand why the bear hadn't done anything to kill Toyotomi. Could it be that the code wasn't in effect anymore? Why would the Mastermind disable it?

-"So…we can say Volkos now? Freely?"- Toyotomi said tentatively, and got more confidence when he saw Monobear wasn't slitting his throat –"Good!"-

-"By the way, Kudo-kun, way to make yourself look even more suspicious"- Yukio said calmly. The Philanthropist gritted his teeth and looked away.

-"So, as I was saying, it's likely that Volkos started the game because we were creating a plan to get rid of Diavolos Avante"-

-"But Ogata-san got a point there, and I agree with that possibility"- Yamaguchi intervened –"Consider this: what if one or more of us did something Diavolos Avante didn't like? And in order to kill those few, the game was created?"-

-"Putting sixteen lives in risk to kill just one or two? That's insane!"- Hikasa replied

-"We're not dealing with somebody sane, that's for sure"- Akane said

-"And…I think we got onto another dead end. Damn it!"- Yukio hit his podium –"Let's change topic: is everybody here who they say they are? That was the question, but…Monobear, is it worded correctly?"-

-" I think it means to ask if everybody in the shelter is who they say they are"- the bear replied.

-"That doesn't change much. Let's see… **Miyata was a Diavolos Avante member, Reiji was part of SHSL Despair, Curtis never existed and his real name was Masamune Toyotomi, Toyotomi and Chiba are Future Foundation agents…"-**

**HOLD THAT THOUGHT**

Hikasa interrupted while Yamaguchi was reciting the answer to that question. The Fashion Designer obeyed, and the words erased themselves from the screen. –"I have been thinking about this, and I have realized a serious flaw in our assumptions"-

-"What flaw? Where?"- Kudo asked, not sure if he had heard correctly

-"Chiba-san being a Future Foundation agent"-

-"But Toyotomi-kun confirmed that she was! And she confessed herself, too!"- Yukio shouted back, not seeing the point of discussing that –"It's clear she was"-

-"Will anybody just listen to me?"-

-"I will. Tell me, Hikasa-kun. What's the flaw in our logic?"- Akane offered to debate with the Weightlifter, and braced herself for the possibility of a big part of their work being destroyed right there.

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Kitchen Knife / IDs / The People Outside / Matsukaze's Notebook / Sensors in the Walls / Chute on the Ceiling / Letter in the Vent / Chiba's Strategies /_

HIKASA: We all think that Chiba-san is a Future Foundation member

HIKASA: And that she remembered it today

HIKASA: But she'd have to be stupid to not to realize…

HIKASA: …something strange was going on!

HIKASA: If she didn't know she was a Future Foundation member…

HIKASA: …then how would she explain the envelopes?

HIKASA: What about the list of belongings?

HIKASA: She'd have investigated more about that

OGATA: …I…you're right about that

OGATA: I hadn't thought of that before…

OGATA: But what if there's an explanation for that?

HIKASA: She **couldn't have known before today** …

HIKASA: …that she was an agent.

HIKASA: She had all those objects in her room **since the beginning** …

HIKASA: … **and that's undeniable**!

HIKASA: I honestly don't see how you can explain that

* * *

-"Wait one moment! I think…there's a possibility that would counter that"-

-"What is it?"- Yukio prompted her to answer quickly.

-"What if those envelopes and that list weren't there all this time? What if they were put there after her death?"- Akane proposed. The graduates reflected on that theory, until Hikasa nodded.

-"That could be possible, but how will we know?"-

-"With this"- Akane pulled out of her coat one of the envelopes, but it wasn't one of those with the letters. Instead, it had the strategies Chiba had written –"As you can see, this is an envelope with something that Chiba-san wrote. If she never had those envelopes, how is this in here?"-

-"They could be false!"- Yamaguchi replied. Akane shrugged.

-"Maybe, but that wasn't what I had thought. I think that these strategies were written by her before her memories got deleted, taken by the Mastermind, and returned after her death"-

-"That's even harder to prove"- Yukio said

-"You're right, but there's a part that always got my attention. Listen to this part, I'm talking about…"-

* * *

_…the address written in it_

_…the people addressed in it_

_…the plan itself_

_…the paper it was written on_

* * *

**_…the address written in it_ **

* * *

-"…there's this address. Now, if one is a Future Foundation member and one needs a safe place to be, wouldn't one think of the Future Foundation's headquarters?"-

-"Of course! That's the first place I'd think of"- Toyotomi went to Akane and peeked into the message with the strategy, until he saw the address. His eyes widened when he took the strategy –"That's the place where my headquarters are located!"-

-"There. Do you think that Chiba-san would have guessed where it was? No, I bet that these strategies were written before her memories were modified, most likely during the first week in this shelter!"-

-"Wow…that was actually impressive…"- Kudo conceded –"You have proven that it's very likely Chiba-san is an authentic Future Foundation agent"-

-"Indeed! So, as I was saying…"- Yamaguchi repeated what she had been saying before Hikasa had interrupted. The screen received everything, but instead of shining with a green light, it added a new question: 'What else?'

-"It isn't complete yet! Are you giving up?"- Monobear taunted. Yamaguchi ignored him, instead speaking to the rest. -"…we're still lacking something"- the Fashion Designer muttered.

-"It must be Volkos. We need to say who is Volkos. By the way, **Volkos is the Mastermind** "- Hikasa said, his words answering the ten question. It wasn't fully accepted, though –'And who is Volkos?'-

-"The big question. If we get it right, we should be able to deduce the rest"- Yukio said –"So, I suppose we all have a suspect, don't we?"- Most of the graduates looked at Kudo, who cringed

-"Saw it coming"-

-" **Kudo is Volkos** "- Hikasa said to Monobear. However, his words didn't appear in the screen –"Did it break?"-

-"I forced the screen to not to register it. Everything is relying on your answer, so I warn you: if you get it wrong, the trial will end. Are you completely sure?"-

-"No, we're not!"- Yamaguchi shouted, and seething exasperation, she turned to Hikasa –"Will you cut it out?"-

-"I'm completely sure of it. Is any of you doubting that the asshole over there is Volkos?"- Hikasa quizzed, glaring at Kudo.

-"I'm sure he is. If there weren't risks, I'd say it right now too, but for the sake of getting it right"- Toyotomi replied –"So let's take it calmly"-

-"I'm not going to take this calmly. You're accusing me of being the Mastermind! Come on!"-

-"Got an argument on your defense, then?"- Yukio inquired, focusing on Kudo. The Philanthropist stood upright, showing he was ready to fight for his life.

-"I do"- Kudo walked to the center of the room. Akane knew that whatever Kudo had thought, it wouldn't be short.

Kudo cleared his throat, and pointed at Monobear –"You can see that Monobear is moving, right? What'd be needed for that?"-

-"To move his controls, of course"- Yamaguchi instantly said

-"And do you see me doing anything? What's more, I offer myself to be searched for anything to control Monobear. Hikasa-kun, why don't you do it?"- Kudo maliciously smiled at Hikasa, who took the challenge. Hikasa quickly searched over Kudo's body, clearly showing that he wasn't happy doing it. When he was done, Hikasa stepped back.

-"He has nothing!"- He shouted

-"And there you have it. I have no way to control Monobear"- Kudo concluded, but not as soon as he said that, he heard Yukio laugh condescendingly.

-"Is that it? That's a pretty weak defense"-

-"Do you have something that can counter that?"- the Philanthropist challenged defiantly. Yukio nodded.

-"I do remember a little something, from an investigation. Akane-chan, didn't you investigate Monobear's office? Didn't you check it?"-

-"I did. Kudo-kun, that attempt was very weak. Here's how Monobear could be controlled by somebody in this room!"- Akane exclaimed.

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear Exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

**Monobear** Exe

-"We all know there's a computer in the office, right? In it there's this oh-so-originally named program: Monobear,exe"-

-"And what about it?"- Kudo had started sweating.

-"I found the description of it in the program itself. It clearly said that it could allow the AI execute itself automatically, without the Mastermind's input. Monobear can move and talk thanks to that program, even if the Mastermind is right in this room"-

-"Remember the code we had found in Matsukaze-kun's notepad in the second investigation? If it was for Monobear's programming, it makes sense that it was something that controlled the bear, and we all know that the code was input in the computer in that office"- Yukio added.

-"There. Your defense is starting to crumble already. Want to continue?"- Hikasa sneered. Kudo grasped his jacket, taking a moment to calm down

-"I will. Next point: the people who had been to this shelter first were, undoubtedly, the Future Foundation. Following me so far?"- When everybody nodded, he continued –"So the Mastermind necessarily has to be a Future Foundation agent. And I'm not one! So, if you intend to accuse me, you'll need to prove that I'm a Future Foundation agent"-

-"No, wait a second!"- Toyotomi kicked his podium –"You can't be a Future Foundation agent. Nobody from my group would do such thing as a mutual killing game!"-

-"So do you agree that I'm not the Mastermind?"-

-"No! I insist you are the Mastermind, but you're not a Future Foundation member. It's impossible! You're from Diavolos Avante"-

-"I agree it's impossible"-

-"But you had said Volkos was a mole in the Future Foundation"- Yamaguchi reminded him.

-"I-I know that! I just…I just don't want to think that somebody from the Future Foundation did this"-

-"So is it agreed? I can't be an agent, right?"-

Akane tuned out of their discussion, instead focusing on her own thoughts. Kudo was going to defend himself as well as he could, so if she wanted to argue with all her strength, she needed to take a decision.

Was Kudo the Mastermind? Did she believe Kudo was the Mastermind?

Closing her eyes, Akane remembered every piece of evidence that indicated it. The missing letter, the lack of his exhibition in the Hallway Museum, his attempt to remind Monobear to kill Toyotomi, the letter in the vent, and what was the most important one: Chiba's confession.

It had been demonstrated that Chiba definitely was a Future Foundation agent, so she definitely could testify that Kudo was an agent as well. What she didn't understand is why she didn't mention Toyotomi, but leaving that aside…

-"Kudo-kun, I say that you're a Future Foundation agent, a Diavolos Avante member, and the Mastermind of this game"- Akane made her decision. She was going to follow what the logic stated. It all seemed like the third trial, according to how Yukio had narrated it: a lot of clues pointing towards that person, and convincing evidence, as well.

-"So tell me, Ogata-san, how am I a Future Foundation agent? Can you demonstrate it?"-

-"It must be the letters"- Yukio said –"Kudo's letter was missing"-

-"There are several explanations for that. You can't say that's good evidence"- Kudo countered. Yukio grimaced, knowing that the Philanthropist was right about that –"If a missing letter is everything you have, then you may as well admit I'm not a Future Foundation agent!"-

-"But that wouldn't change the possibility of you being the Mastermind"- Hikasa pointed. Kudo grinned, shaking his head

-"It does. I'm not stupid, man. I have realized that a good chunk of your theories against me relies on me being a Future Foundation agent. Now that I have destroyed the base, I'll continue with the rest…"- suddenly, he heard a gasp behind him. He turned around to see that Akane had been the one to do that.

-"I got it! I can prove that he's a Future Foundation agent!"-

-"What?!"-

-"You can?"- Toyotomi asked skeptically. He did have faith on Akane, but he couldn't think what it could be.

-"I can"- she said, smiling coyly. The truth is that she wasn't as sure as she seemed. In fact, it was more of a bluff, and if she was unlucky, her reasoning could get negated. The only hope she had was to make a show so big the flaws in her logic wouldn't be noticed.

_Distracting to cover the weaknesses. Would Chiba-san approve that strategy?_

-"So here I go, and no, it isn't the letters"- Akane said –"Kudo-kun, I'll prove conclusively that you, Chiba-san and Toyotomi-kun are all agents!"-

* * *

**Two questions answered, out of ten**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's curious? The strange feeling that is to write the chapters that are meant to tie every single important moment that has been in the story into one bundle of cohesive logic, easy to comprehend.
> 
> I think it's for feelings like that that I started to write stories like this. It's...satisfying. It's true this is merely the first chapter of the few that will be needed for that, but it's still satisfying.


	41. Chapter 6: The Angels, the Devils and the Humans - Trial II

-"No…no, you can't"- Kudo said faintly. He clearly didn't expect anybody to challenge his statement

-"Wow, great! Beat him in his own game, Ogata-san!"- Yamaguchi cheered. Akane nodded, and pulled from her pocket one of the pieces of evidence she had found but had never thought about very well. _I could give a spin to this…even if I'm wrong, nobody can demonstrate I AM wrong_ –"This shows the connection between Toyotomi-kun, Chiba-san and you!"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Code of the Locked Section**

* * *

-"It's all in the code that blocked the Locked Section. It was what Chiba had written at some point before her death. 'CTK'"-

-"That sounds like random letters"- Kudo replied

-"No, they're not!"- Akane shouted back, knowing that Kudo was starting to see through her –"Look! If the 'C' stands for Chiba, and the 'T' stands for Toyotomi, then what would the 'K' stand to? Kudo!"-

-"…really?"- Kudo definitely wasn't impressed –"That's flimsy logic. Nobody here would believe that…"-

-"Thank you, Akane-chan, I think I see your point"- Yukio jumped to try to salvage the situation before Kudo managed to break the reasoning –"Listen everybody! The Future Foundation agents were the ones to be in this shelter, right? They called us all here. It makes sense that they'd be the ones to set everything that is in this place"-

-"If they did, then they must have set the password as well"- Hikasa said

-"Yes. The password could only be three letters long. Is it that hard to think that they thought of a password that seems random but has meaning to them? Their names! That'd make it easy to remember, ensuring they weren't going to be left locked out"-

-"And since Kudo-kun remembers it, he's an agent? I'm not sure that's…"- Yamaguchi had started saying, but the Philanthropist shut her up, glaring at her.

-"Hold it! If that's how we're going to play then I'll join"- Kudo pointed at some of the empty podiums –"Why couldn't it be Toriumi-san or Toyogushi-kun instead of Toyotomi-kun? Or Curtis-kun, even if we know he doesn't exist, instead of Chiba-san? Or the C for Chihiro? Are you going to say that they're agents as well?"-

-"..uuuuh…"- Yukio was at a loss of words.

-"That's all I have to say. Your so-called 'conclusive' evidence is no more than something senseless."-

Akane was flabbergasted. Kudo had managed to turn the only possible link into something as meaningless as the missing letter. _Is that all I can do? Isn't there anything else?_ Hurriedly, she remembered each clue she had found, but nothing linked Kudo and the Future Foundation.

-"I…I have nothing"- she finally said, strained. Kudo laughed triumphantly, turning towards the rest.

-"Any of you got something to say? If you don't, then let's consider any suspicion on me as baseless"-

-"Volkos erased my memories about him, which should mean that he's in this shelter. Chiba-san isn't Volkos, I'm sure of that, so somebody else in here must be an agent, but I have no idea who… "- Toyotomi muttered feverishly.

-"What about Chiba-san's final words? She clearly said you were an agent!"- Yamaguchi attacked. Kudo shrugged, as if he didn't care about that.

-"Ogata-san mentioned that there were flashdrives with our memories, and that they could be modified. When Chiba-san got her memories back, they were modified to make her think I was the Mastermind. It's that simple"-

-"That…does make sense"- Yukio admitted.

Akane gritted her teeth when Kudo continued –"And so, it's impossible for me to be the Mastermind. I'm sorry for not finding my letter in the compactor. If I had, this discussion wouldn't have even happened. Now let's focus on somebody else, alright?"- The Philanthropist moved back to his podium, relaxed. He was sure that he had dismantled all the suspicions on him, when the person they least expected spoke.

-"Kaiji Kudo is a Future Foundation member. I guarantee it"-

Monobear had spoken with a defiant tone, as if to say he wasn't going to admit any discussion. Kudo's eyes widened. –"What the heck…"-

-"Why's he telling us that? Were you so incompetent you programmed the AI wrongly?"- Toyotomi laughed at Kudo

-"He-He's lying. Are you going to trust Monobear?"-

-"No, we won't"- Yamaguchi replied, but Akane said the opposite immediately –"I do"- Everybody stared at Akane, who fidgeted under their questioning glares –"I mean, what reason would he have to lie?"-

-"Mislead us and make us condemn the wrong person, by example?"- Yukio said

-"That's if we think that Kudo-kun is innocent, but are we really going to change our opinion that easily?"-

-"I won't"- Hikasa said, but the rest didn't agree. Toyotomi argued that Kudo's defense did make sense, and that the chances of he being the Mastermind were less and less –"Are you going to deny the logic?"-

-"I won't deny anything…"- Akane realized that she wouldn't be able to convince them to believe what Monobear had said. She had realized why Monobear had been acting so strange.

That hijacking code wasn't there for nothing.

_If my logic is correct, the person controlling Monobear right now has no reason to lie. In fact, they'd have a reason to make sure Kudo, or more precisely Volkos, is caught._

-"Let's suppose that the Mastermind didn't need to be an agent. There are other things that can point to Kudo-kun being the Mastermind"- Akane said

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Small Key / The People outside / Matsukaze's Notepad / Monobear,exe / Chute on the Ceiling / Blackout / Memory Restoration Machine / Missing Memories / Sensors in the Walls_

* * *

OGATA: Let's think it like this:

OGATA: What would a Mastermind be like?

HIKASA: He'd be ruthless and maniacal

OGATA: No, I mean, related to the shelter

TOYOTOMI: I suppose he'd be **_familiar with the layout_**

KUDO: He'd have been the one **_to set the password_**

YAMAGUCHI: He'd ensure his **_survival at any cost_**

YUKIO: He'd **_stay away from any suspicion_**

HIKASA: Does Kudo-kun fit any of these?

* * *

-"He does! Kudo is very familiar with the layout!"-

Akane had shouted those words. Toyotomi smiled, satisfied –"Explain"-

-"I heard this from Yukio-kun, but remember the third murder: there was a blackout that affected the whole shelter, but one of us quickly managed to navigate through the shelter to the Maintenance Room and fixed the problem"-

-"…wasn't it Kudo-kun?"- Hikasa remembered. Akane nodded energically, hoping that everybody had deduced what she had thought.

-"How that section had been open for not too long, yet he was able to navigate the shelter in complete darkness, and in no time, too! I remember the blackout didn't last long"- Yukio said

-"I-I was near the Maintenance Room, there's no mystery there…"- Kudo quickly said, but Yukio cut him off

-"Even then! Near of that place or not, there's no way somebody who had been in that section for as short as we all did could do it. Only somebody who was much more familiar with the shelter than us would be able to be so quick"- the Assistant pointed at Kudo dramatically –"You have the memories of at least the double of time than us, it's no surprise you'd have memorized better the shelter's layout!"-

-"…Aaaaagh…"- Kudo let out a long groan –"Why doing good deeds always lead to trouble? It has been an enigma my whole life"- then he changed his tone to one more confrontational –"If being speedy in ending the blackout will mark me as the Mastermind then you people are the most ungrateful lot I have ever met"-

-"That isn't the only thing that got my attention. What Yamaguchi-san said is a very interesting point either"- Akane said. The Fashion Designer looked at her quizzically

-"You mean the part about surviving at any cost?"-

-"Yes. Now that you mentioned it, I do know of something Kudo-kun did to ensure his survival, partly. And it's related to Chiba-san's final words, too: getting him declared guilty for a murder"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Execution Rooms**

* * *

-"When I explored the Locked Section, I found a lot of rooms, each one holding the contraptions that would serve as the execution mechanisms…"-

-"Wait, you never explained us what was each one!"- Hikasa pointed and made Akane say what she had found. Soon Akane had to talk about each one, who she thought it belonged to, and how the mechanism would have worked. The graduates, when they heard about her suppositions, cringed at the deaths that would have awaited them if they made a mistake in the trials, or killed somebody

-"It's nice and all, Ogata-san, but I think you got kinda sidetracked there"- Kudo interrupted her while she was describing Yamaguchi's execution room –"What was your point"-

-"The Mastermind would have done anything he could to ensure he didn't die. If a trial failed and the culprit got away, or the Mastermind killed somebody and was caught, then…isn't it obvious?"-

-"It would be a chance for them to pretend to be dead. Not everybody would suspect the Mastermind would be a dead person!"- Yamaguchi completed the idea, her eyes shining from the realization

-"Exactly. None of the rooms I found had something that I could interpret as Kudo's execution"- Akane conveniently didn't mention that there were a couple graduates more who didn't have rooms that could be linked to them easily. She hoped that her assumption was correct.

-"So Chiba-san was right, after all…if we had voted Kudo-kun guilty, he'd have pretended to die and let us go…"- Yukio said

-"Either that or he'd have stayed behind scenes after his supposed death and would have let us die in this place"- Hikasa shot back. Yukio shrugged, acknowledging that could have been possible too.

-"Kudo-kun, how are you going to defend from that?"- Toyotomi interrogated him, but the Philanthropist threw his arms up in exasperation

-"How the heck do you expect me to defend myself?! I have no idea why there isn't an execution room for me"-

-"See? There are just way too many things that point to you! Even if you're not an agent, it's clear you do have a lot to do with the Mastermind"-

-"No, no, no! Come on, you know me, guys. I'm a Philanthropist. I live to serve and help people! Even if I was Volkos, and I'm not, I wouldn't get involved in something like this!"-

Akane felt satisfied when Kudo said that. He was starting to appeal to them emotionally, trying to make them wonder if he'd do that. _This should mean he's getting cornered…I can't let my guard down_ –"Are you really a Philanthropist?"-

-"…what?"- Kudo really didn't expect a question like that –"Of course I am! Didn't you see the photos in my bedroom?"-

-"Is there any reason to doubt that?"- Hikasa asked. Akane shrugged, unsure

-"What I'm saying is that Kudo-kun may not have gotten into Hope's Peak due to philanthropic behavior. He lacks a certain something…Toyotomi-kun was caught the same way"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Hallway Museum**

-"In the Hallway Museum there are exhibitions that show how we got into Hope's Peak. They're not marked with our names, but it's easy to know which exhibition belongs to whom"-

-"Toyotomi-kun had that freaky face pinned to the wall, didn't he? That's how you found out his real identity"- Yamaguchi remembered, shuddering at the memory of the mask on the wall

-"So what's Kudo-kun's real talent?"-

-"…I don't know. Two exhibitions were missing: Sakurai-kun and Kudo-kun. It's to be expected that the former wouldn't have one, but why doesn't Kudo-kun have an exhibition?"-

**IT'S RATHER OBVIOUS**

Yukio had been the one to shout that. The Assistant was pointing at Yukio. –"That man has never been a Hope's Peak student! If there's no proof of any talent, then he may as well not have been one of us"-

_No! That is wrong, damn it!_

-"But he was quite recognized…how couldn't he have been accepted into Hope's Peak?"- Toyotomi asked.

-"It doesn't matter. What matters is that he never got into Hope's Peak in first place. This is my theory:

Kaiji Kudo, or Volkos, had intended to enter Hope's Peak but he never received an invitation, for reasons unknown. So to have his revenge, he systematically has killed Hope's Peak graduates, and gathered the last few survivors in this shelter to continue!"-

Kudo made a hideous face, outraged –"What kind of farce is this?! Are you accusing me of killing graduates? Where's your proof, moron?!"-

-"Yukio-kun, no! You're jumping to conclusions here!"- Akane said before Yukio could reply

-"How can you explain his missing exhibition, then? It's the only conclusion there is"-

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Matsukaze's Notebook / Prosthetic Makeup / Chiba's Strategies / Blackout / Future Foundation Envelopes / Hope's Peak's Files / Execution Rooms / Hope's Peak / Letter in the Vent_

* * *

YUKIO: Today I paid attention to how many exhibitions were there

YUKIO: I counted thirteen

YUKIO: Sakurai-kun obviously wouldn't have one

YUKIO: Reiji and I would have one joint exhibition

YUKIO: So how can you explain Kudo-kun's missing exhibition?

YUKIO: I can only think there was nothing to show about him

YUKIO: And if there wasn't anything that got him into Hope's Peak…

YUKIO: …I can only suppose he never studied in Hope's Peak!

OGATA: It's natural you don't know what I know

OGATA: So allow me to show you what you didn't see

YUKIO: …what I didn't see?

YUKIO: I have seen everything there was to be seen

YUKIO: And **nothing** we have can show that…

YUKIO: …Kudo-kun is a Hope's Peak graduate!

* * *

-"As I said, you don't know what I know"- Akane repeated. She didn't want to outright say that Yukio hadn't been there when the evidence was revealed, even if Kudo, the main Mastermind suspect, obviously knew Yukio hadn't been around –"Toyotomi-kun, the files, please"-

-"Files? What files?"- Yukio asked while Toyotomi gave Akane the files from the cabinet

-"These are Hope's Peak records, and if you take a look at this…"- Akane fished the list of the 67th Class and showed it to Yukio –"…you'll see that it's confirmed that Kudo-kun was part of this generation"-

-"That can be explained easily"- Yukio replied after finding Kudo's name –"He could have tampered this file"-

-"No, that isn't possible. Not even Monobear or the Mastermind could have modified these files in any way. They lacked a certain something that would have been essential for that!"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Small Key**

* * *

-"These files were in that file cabinet in the fourth section, the one that couldn't be opened not even by Monobear. Yamaguchi-san found the key for it in Chiba-san's bedroom. I can say that Chiba-san was the only one with access to these files!"-

Yukio read the paper over and over, as if he expected to find anything new. Finally, he gave up and returned the file where it belonged –"Okay, I admit that you could be right. But why are these files all the way down here? Anybody would have thought they'd stay in Hope's Peak"-

-"Chiba-san brought them down, surely"- Hikasa theorized –"And that's why she had the key"-

-"That's how the Future Foundation got our names, using those files"- Yamaguchi added –"It makes sense, doesn't it?"-

-"So, Kudo-kun, what's your talent?"- Akane asked again. She wasn't sure if Kudo would break down and reveal the truth, but it was still worth trying. The supposed Philanthropist didn't budge an inch

-"I got accepted into Hope's Peak as the SHSL Philanthropist. That's all I have to say"-

The discussion devolved into a shouting match between the graduates, arguing about the importance or lack of it of Kudo's talent. The accused Mastermind stayed silent during most of it, simply letting the noise sail over his head. The only one who noticed it was Monobear, and at that point, the patience of the person who was controlling it was low. –"Shut the fuck up, all of you!"- Monobear shouted, trying to get their attention –"I'm fed up. Decide once and for all if that man is the Mastermind!"-

-"B-But we haven't…"- Yukio tried to say, but was interrupted.

-"I say: decide it now!"- The graduates stared at Monobear, wondering why he was pushing them now –"Don't make me repeat it"- he growled. The graduates uncomfortably nodded, and gathered at the center of the room to talk without Monobear listening to them

-"Um. Okay, eh…are we sure that Kudo-kun is the Mastermind?"- Yamaguchi asked –"We haven't discussed any other graduate so far"-

-"The clues and everything points at Kudo-kun, there has been no need to discuss anybody else"- Yukio replied. Kudo was about to say something when Hikasa grabbed him and covered his mouth

-"You'll stay quiet"- and then to the rest –"If none of you are going to take the risk, then I will"-

-"We should convince Monobear to give just a bit more of time, we need to…"- Toyotomi mulled, but the Weightlifter decided it had been enough. He let Kudo go and walked to Monobear.

-"We have reached a decision"-

The others screamed at Hikasa, demanding him to back off and let the rest deal with the situation. It wasn't that they didn't trust him to take part of an intelligent discussion. It was more because despite Monobear's coercing to decide once and for all who the Mastermind was, they didn't want to rush and ruin everything.

Hikasa ignored them, and raised his voice to drown the rest –" **We state that Kaiji Kudo is the Mastermind, responsible of this game of mutual killing. And for the question #8, we also state that Kaiji Kudo is Volkos and a member of Diavolos Avante** "-

A grave silence descended onto the trial room. The graduates held their breath while the screen registered Hikasa's words, and waited expectantly for any possible answer. Monobear stared at the screen as well, wringing his paws together in worry.

Akane almost couldn't believe it when the screen glowed green.

There was silence for a moment, and then a bunch of different reactions happened at once. Hikasa howled "I knew it!". Toyotomi and Yamaguchi celebrated, and Yukio looked at Kudo smugly. Monobear looked like he was about to explode of anger, and Kudo sighed in defeat.

_…is this really it? I know I was planning to accuse Kudo-kun, but is everything alright?_

_Why do I have such a bad feeling?_

-"There you have it! This asshole is Volkos and the Mastermind! Now we know who to pummel until he lets us out!"- Hikasa stomped towards Kudo, but the Philanthropist calmly stepped away, avoiding him.

-"Lay a finger on me and I'll kill you all right now"-

That was enough to make Hikasa slow down. Kudo continued, gesturing at the ceiling –"I have guns set on the ceiling, and I won't be afraid of using them on you all, so play nice, okay?"-

Hikasa was visibly forcing himself to not to grab Kudo and wring his neck, but he obeyed and backed off. –"I didn't think I'd really get caught"-

-"But we did. That means this is finally over. We beat you"- Toyotomi said.

-"You haven't done anything. Did you forget about those?"- He pointed with his thumb at the screen, where there were still six questions left –"I'm not truly beaten until that is complete"-

At that point, Kudo took off his sports jacket, reversing it. Now instead of the blue color, it was red, as expected from the Mastermind. His face acquired a steely glare while he surveyed his surroundings. –"So why don't we get this over with?"-

Akane watched him, still not fully believing it. Despite the confirmation from the screen, she still felt a knot in her gut, as if she was missing something crucial. _Seriously, why do I have such a bad feeling about all of this?_

_He has even confirmed that he's the Mastermind._

_Why am I having the strange feeling everything has been way too…easy?_

* * *

**Four questions solved (?)**


	42. Chapter 6: The Angels, the Devils and the Humans - Trial III

The atmosphere of the trial room had oddly taken a much cheerier turn. Maybe it was because the one who had been behind the game had been revealed, and the fact that Kudo wasn't exactly going to open the door outside was forgotten.

-"Okay, let's tackle this! It's just six questions more"- Yukio said, pumping his fist upwards.

-"We found the Mastermind, the rest of this should be a walk in the park"- Yamaguchi added –"So where do we start?"-

-"Guys? I…I'm not sure that we should continue with this"- Akane said, dampening the atmosphere a little. The graduates didn't pay much attention to her, Kudo being the only one to comment about her words.

-"Yes, let's listen to her. Why don't we leave things as they are?"- He said indifferently

-"You, be quiet"- Hikasa dismissively replied, and focused back onto the questions –"I'd say the first three would be rather easy now"-

-"I-I mean it, guys! I have the feeling that we…"- the Chemist tried to say again, but Yukio had started to lose his patience

-"What, Akane-chan? He confessed! There's nothing else to discuss, the Mastermind himself has confirmed it"-

-"It can't be more clear than this"- Toyotomi added

-"But there are some pieces of evidence we haven't examined yet. If we take a look, we could…"-

-"Can you stop dragging this even more?"- Monobear interrupted her this time. Akane gritted her teeth in frustration –"Let's get this over with as soon as possible"-

-"Doesn't anybody even notice that Monobear is acting strange right now?!"-

-"He's saying what Kudo wants him to say"- Yukio replied, his tone showing he didn't want to argue about that

-"I do agree with Monobear. This had dragged on for long enough, so be a nice girl and join into the discussion that matters"- Kudo said slowly.

-"What's going on, Kudo-kun? Are you really the Mastermind?"- Akane was trying to find any excuse she could find to bring everything back to the topic about the Mastermind's identity. Kudo sighed, as if he were talking to a five year old.

-"Yes, I am. What do I need to do so you accept once and for all that I'm the Mastermind so we get this trial over with and you lot stay in the shelter for the rest of your lives?"-

-"I don't know! Demonstrate me that you're the Mastermind!"- She was starting to behave irrationally, she knew that much, but she didn't care. Anything to try to force some order into that kangaroo court.

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Memory Restoration Machine / Matsukaze's Notepad / Chute on the Ceiling / Future Foundation Envelopes / The Missing Week / Letters from the Future Foundation / Shady Flashdrives / Blackout / Toyogushi's Photography_

* * *

HIKASA: Ogata-san, what's going on with you?

HIKASA: **We already caught the Mastermind**

OGATA: But it wasn't proven conclusively!

OGATA: He could be lying for all we know

TOYOTOMI: And why would he do that?

TOYOTOMI: It'd **make no sense**!

YUKIO: He **can't be protecting anybody**

YAMAGUCHI: He's a **Diavolos Avante member** …

YAMAGUCHI: …and a **Future Foundation agent**

KUDO: And all that has been **proven conclusively**

KUDO: It's endgame for me!

* * *

-"You got that wrong! Yamaguchi-san, that's exactly what we never proved!"-

-"What are you talking about?"- Kudo narrowed his eyes, annoyed

-"When did we prove that Kudo-kun was a Future Foundation agent? That was exactly the principal point against our accusation!"- She reminded them. Yamaguchi gasped, realizing that Akane was right.

_That should be enough!_

-"…Once again, you can't do a thing right, Ogata-san"- Kudo said, rubbing his temples –"Okay, I'll admit it: I am a Future Foundation agent. I erased Toyotomi-kun's memory to hide my alignment with Diavolos Avante. Is that all?"-

-"No, that isn't all"- Akane quickly said, strained. If Kudo kept talking, it'd be impossible to make everybody consider somebody else –"Why didn't you erase Chiba-san's memories about you, then?"-

-"I did. I returned them to her this morning, but what I didn't expect is that she'd try to accuse me"-

-"So much for that hole in the argument, Ogata-san"- Yamaguchi sighed

-"What do we have to do for you to accept once and for all that Kudo-kun is the Mastermind? Look at the evidence! It's clear that it all leads to him"- Yukio said.

-"Oooooh, I think I know exactly what she needs to know"- Kudo grinned, almost seeming like he was back to normal –"Ogata-san, did you know that I have felt threatened by you and your deductive abilities?"-

-"Eh?"- That was a topic Akane hadn't expected.

-"Maybe it's because you're the most talkative person in the shelter, but while other people had been the ones to indicate who the culprit was, you were the one who show the proof that led to us voting. Matsukaze-san deducted who killed Saitou-kun, but you pointed how the murder happened. Toriumi-san made the accusation towards Miyata-kun, but you were the one to show the final evidence. By that point, something was clear to me: you needed to die"-

-"I…what are you saying?!"-

-"If somebody voiced a suspicion of me being the Mastermind and you agreed with them, chances were that you'd find a way to prove it. So I condemned you to an execution, but the machine malfunctioned so you only fell in coma instead of being crushed into a pulp. Do you think that was the last attempt I'd do against your life?"-

Akane felt goosebumps. Not every day you hear somebody tell you about how he'd like to kill you. Kudo continued, relentless: -"Do you know what I'm talking about? Because it was mere luck that I couldn't slit your throat yesterday"-

Yesterday…she had awoken from the coma the day before this moment. So many things had happened in the last 24 hours that anybody would have thought it had been longer than that.

The realization of how close she had been to being murdered hit her like a snowball. She knew exactly what Kudo-kun had been talking about.

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Kitchen Knife**

* * *

-"The knife in the infirmary…you were the one who brought it"- Akane said, horrified

-"Indeed I was. There I was, about to slit your throat, when you woke up and clung to me like a leech. You have no idea how awkward that was"-

Like an echo, the strange noise she had heard when she hugged Kudo when she woke up returned to her mind. That must have been the knife when it fell to the floor

Kudo continued, as if he were talking about the weather –"I had measured my time perfectly, narrowly avoiding Yukio-kun. I was supposed to slit your throat, hide under your bed, let Yukio-kun find your body and get out of there while he went to bring the rest. But you ruined the timing; I had no time to kill you as I had planned. You got lucky, again"-

The more Kudo talked, the less doubts Akane had about him being the Mastermind. It did make sense, in some way.

-"Okay, let's finish this. The first three questions are a good place to start, as two of them are already obvious"- Akane said hoarsely, still processing what Kudo had said.

-"So, I have no doubts: **the Future Foundation people were the ones to gather us graduates here** , that much is confirmed already"- Yamaguchi said, answering correctly the first question.

-"Judging by Kudo-kun's presence, **Diavolos Avante hijacked the shelter and led us to the mutual killing game** "- Hikasa contributed –"Would you be kind enough to confirm it?"-

Kudo shrugged –"Sure. I did that"-

-"And with that, we're halfway done. This sure is easy"- Yukio said –"What I don't know for sure is SHSL Despair's involvement"-

-"Reiji was here, could he have planned the same thing Kudo-kun did? A mutual killing game?"- Akane suggested

-"No, his journal didn't say anything about that. I'm sure that if he had planned to create a mutual killing game we'd have heard about it"-

-"I haven't seen anything that shows SHSL Despair has even stepped into this shelter…"-

-"I can't believe it: you're all missing the most obvious clue about SHSL Despair's involvement"- Toyotomi said –"Can't you see it?"-

-"Him? Oh!"- Akane saw what Toyotomi meant. Maybe because it was so obvious they hadn't realized it at first.

* * *

_Monobear_

_The shelter_

_Reiji Ohmoto_

_The Mastermind_

* * *

**Monobear**

* * *

-"That's true…SHSL Despair should be the only ones who could have access to Monobear and his programming, right?"-

-"Exactly. SHSL Despair must be involved in some way"- Toyotomi confirmed –"Reiji was the only one who was a member of that faction, right?"-

-"Yes, he was"- Kudo nodded

-"But if Reiji wasn't involved then…how could it be that Kudo-kun got Monobear?"-

Kudo observed their musings, with a glint of amusement in his eyes. –"SHSL Despair has no relation to me"-

-"That's right, they don't"- Monobear piped up –"I'd know if they did"-

_Then how did Kudo-kun get Monobear? Could SHSL Despair have been allied to him?_

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Memory Restoration Machine / Morgue / Medium Session: Lines Received / Chiba's Confession / Matsukaze's Notepad / List of Belongings / Hope's Peak / Shady Flashdrives / Missing Memories_

* * *

YUKIO: The mutual killing game is a big clue, in my opinion

YUKIO: It can only have been a **_SHSL Despair's idea_**

HIKASA: But we all saw it broadcasted

KUDO: It isn't like only SHSL Despair knows about it

YAMAGUCHI: A SHSL Despair would have easy access to the bear

YAMAGUCHI: It isn't like it had been **_lying around somewhere_**

HIKASA: Couldn't **_Diavolos Avante_** have a replica of it?

HIKASA: Or the **_Future Foundation_**?

HIKASA: They had the memories machine, after all

TOYOTOMI: No, we never bothered to search for Monobear

TOYOTOMI: But I'm sure **it couldn't be recreated**

YAMAGUCHI: Maybe it was **_in this shelter_** all this time

KUDO: So many theories and so little evidence

KUDO: I'm having a blast, guys!

* * *

Akane felt something tugging in her memory. She had no idea if she was right, but it was…worth trying.

-"Does anybody know what happened to the Monobear that was used in Enoshima's game in Hope's Peak?"-

Nobody knew. They all shrugged and confirmed they had no idea. –"The broadcast stopped shortly after Enoshima's death. I…don't remember seeing Monobear at any point beyond that"- Yamaguchi mumbled

-"Then for all we know, Monobear could have been left behind in Hope's Peak. If that's correct, then all Kudo-kun had to do was to enter Hope's Peak and retrieve Monobear"-

-"That…could be possible"- Toyotomi conceded.

-"Does that mean that SHSL Despair had nothing to do with Monobear in this game?"- Yukio wondered.

-"I suppose they didn't…"- Hikasa started saying, but he was interrupted by once another shout.

**IT'S ALL A THEORY**

Kudo had been the one to bellow that. He was smiling, clearly not taking the discussion with the seriousness it warranted. He calmly spoke to Akane –"Would you please say what you think happened?"-

-"Aaaah…"- Akane gathered her thoughts, and tried to order them to make a cohesive theory –"Alright, I think that you found Monobear in Hope's Peak and brought it back to Diavolos Avante"-

-"…thought so"- Kudo raised his hands apologetically –"And I suppose you have a reason to think that, don't you? Let's play a little more: I deny ever bringing Monobear anywhere"-

* * *

**Rebuttal Showdown**

* * *

_Prosthetic Makeup / Hope's Peak's Files / Toyogushi's Photography / Medium Session: Lines Received / Kitchen Knife / Hijacking Code / Curtis' Annotations / IDs / List of Belongings_

* * *

KUDO: I don't care if you don't believe me

KUDO: But Monobear's presence here doesn't mean…

KUDO: ...I took him at any point

KUDO: Why aren't you thinking other possibilities?

KUDO: There are several others who could have brought him

OGATA: But you're the only Mastermind

OGATA: Who else besides the Mastermind could bring him?

KUDO: **The Future Foundation** , maybe?

KUDO: Or **Reiji** , perhaps

KUDO: He was SHSL Despair, after all

KUDO: Or Monobear could have **been in the shelter** …

KUDO: …since the beginning of the game

KUDO: But as it's right now…

KUDO: **Nothing links** Monobear to Diavolos Avante

* * *

-"I can prove that Diavolos Avante had Monobear with them!"- Akane shouted

-"Then prove it. I'm all ears"-

-"During my investigation I found the program that makes the Monobear AI work, and among the changes log, there's a change made by one 'y-oyama' with a comment that says this:

'Is Veritas expecting the bear to leave the headquarters?"-

-"Did you say 'Veritas'?!"- Toyotomi realized. Akane confirmed it –"He's the leader of Diavolos Avante! This is decisive!"-

-"It says 'leave the headquarters'. That's practically confirming Monobear was once in Diavolos Avante's headquarters!"- Yukio deduced as well.

-"…Of course …"- Kudo muttered, closing his eyes…-"So Veritas is the link Monobear has with Diavolos Avante. That's what you're saying"-

-"Exactly. This proves that at some point Monobear was in hands of Diavolos Avante!"-

Kudo nodded, accepting Akane's logic –"I really had good reasons to be afraid of you! Yes, you're absolutely correct"-

-"Ogata-san, what does that code do, again?"- Yamaguchi asked

-"I'm curious too. What's that code?"- The Mastermind wondered as well. Akane doubted for a moment. Should she tell them that it was to hijack Monobear? She had the feeling that she should withhold that information for now…that it'd be useful later.

She made her decision –"I don't know. I'm not good reading coding"-

Kudo stared at Akane, clearly doubting her ignorance about the code, but at the end decided it wasn't really worth knowing. –"Alright, so all in all, what does Monobear being with Diavolos Avante prove?"-

-"I think it proves that SHSL Despair had nothing to do with this nightmare"- Hikasa concluded.

-"It doesn't really prove that, but I agree. **SHSL Despair is unrelated to this mutual killing game** "- Akane stated, pointing at the screen with the questions. The proposed answer was typed automatically, and soon the screen glowed green once again. There were now only three questions left to answer.

Kudo clapped, in what everybody took as a condescending attitude –"Excellent. You're all excellent opponents, especially you, Ogata-san"-

Akane didn't respond, but Kudo ignored that –"Since you're all so good, I'll be gracious and give you all the answer to the only question none of you would have ever answered correctly: the fifth one"-

-"What's this shelter, exactly?"- Yukio read it.

-"Exactly. Consider it a gift, or a way for this matter to end as soon as possible. This trial room is getting stuffy"- Kudo took a deep breath, and started talking –"This shelter has always been Hope's Peak's property. It had been built as the place for the students, faculty and scientists to gather, in case something terrible happened. The headmaster that was appointed after the great Izuru Kamukura, founder of Hope's Peak, was a paranoid oddball, so this shelter came into existence.

The reason the entrance is in the junk pit is because he judged nobody would think it was there, and that was correct. However, the more time passed, the more Hope's Peak inverted in the school's main purpose: recollecting information about the different talents. As you all know by now, it all had one objective: to create who would be called the Super High School Level Hope.

The headmaster at the time made all efforts possible to avoid it, but soon the investigation started wandering into more…morally dubious terrain. His paranoia or as some may call…common sense…led him to divide the investigation in two groups: one would be what society would see and know; the other would work in this shelter and continue the parts of the investigations that would be frowned upon.

I don't have the full information of what it entailed, but judging by the…result, as you all know…"- Kudo made an eloquent pause. Akane knew exactly what he had been talking about, the scandal about the SHSL Hope created by Hope's Peak and its horrifying actions had been shocking news, to say the least –"…imagine what the unsuccessful attempts entailed"-

-"…I had never thought Hope's Peak would have done anything like that…"- Yukio said softly –"…I wanted to be Headmaster of Hope's Peak, but I'd have never consented to let something like that continue"-

-"Then you didn't have very good chances"- Kudo said bluntly, and continued –"The bodies in the morgue are nothing less than Hope's Peak's attempts to bury their misdoings. Anyone who died in this shelter in ways they couldn't explain to the public…stayed in this shelter forever.

You all know how they tried to sweep under the rug everything related to Izuru Kamukura and his massacre against those kids. If there's one thing Hope's Peak excels at, is at hiding their own monstrous side"- he finished, gravely.

Nobody spoke for a moment, the weight of Kudo's revelation burdening their heads. Finally when they had processed and barely accepted it, Yamaguchi raised a hand –"And…how did this go into the Future Foundation's possession?"- For a moment she looked at Toyotomi, who replied he didn't know.

-"I do know"- Kudo answered –"When The World's Most Despair-Inducing Incident happened, headmaster Jin Kirigiri met with who would be one of the founders of the Future Foundation. The purpose of that meeting was to discuss what to do with the students at the time, the 78th class of Hope's Peak. Kirigiri revealed the shelter and its history, but said he didn't like the idea of using it to protect the rest, and hatched a plan to convert Hope's Peak into its own shelter. We all know how that ended.

The meeting concluded with the Future Foundation founder asking to get the shelter given to him, and informed Kirigiri about the idea of forming the Future Foundation. Kirigiri accepted, and they quickly created an entrance to the subway, and blocked the door that linked Hope's Peak's trash pit with the shelter. The Future Foundation sealed the areas that had been used by the scientists, which you all know as the Locked Section, and only left four sections available to the agents. And as you all may suppose…

…Chiba-san, Toyotomi-kun and I, as high ranking agents, were given the task of keeping an eye on the shelter and give it a good use.

So here's the answer: **This shelter was a place for Hope's Peak to hide its misdoings, and recently was given to the Future Foundation to turn it into a safe place** "-

The answer was accepted despite it coming from the Mastermind himself. That left only two questions still to be filled: "Why were they called into the shelter?" and "What's the reason behind the mutual killing game"

_Well, don't look a gift horse in the mouth_

-"Allow me to answer the fourth question, why we're here"- Toyotomi said –"I think we all remember Miyata-kun, don't we?"-

-"How to forget him?"- Yukio mumbled

-"He and Ogata-san were the two graduates we had no idea why they were called. However, I think I know why Miyata-kun was called here"- Toyotomi walked to Miyata's portrait and knocked it down with a push –" **Miyata-kun was summoned here to assist Kudo-kun in this whole scheme as an accomplice** "-

-"That would explain why he was chosen for something like this"- Hikasa agreed –"And wasn't there something in the second investigation that showed he was working with the Mastermind?"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Matsukaze's Notebook**

* * *

-"The notebook that had supposedly contained Matsukaze-kun's deductions!"- Akane remembered

-"Exactly, that shows how Miyata-kun was working with Kudo-kun: as his subordinate he eliminated anything that could point to Kudo-kun being the Mastermind"- Hikasa concluded –"It's flawless"-

-"That'd be a good explanation for why Miyata-kun was called here, but then what about Ogata-san? She isn't one of Kudo-kun's lackeys, is she?"- Yamaguchi pointed. Hikasa thought for a moment, but he couldn't think of an explanation for Akane to be there.

-"I think I know the reason"- Toyotomi said, chewing on his nails –"I have been thinking about it since I saw the list of Akane's generation…I'm sure I have heard the other guy's name before"-

-"Where?"-

-"…I'm not completely positive of this, but I think the other survivor of Ogata-san's class is a Diavolos Avante member"-

-"…huh"- Kudo took the news with interest –"You really have done a good job, Toyotomi-kun. I wonder how much you know about our group"-

-"If that guy was a Diavolos Avante member why didn't Kudo-kun bring him too?"- Hikasa wondered

-"Say, Toyotomi-kun, is that guy a recognizable member of Diavolos Avante?"- Yukio asked

-"He has a relatively high ranking, but doesn't reach the status of the Main Board"- the agent responded

-"As I see it, it's logical that it'd be better to avoid bringing high ranking members, as they'd be recognizable. It'd be good to bring members that are of lower ranks, so they could go unnoticed"- the Assistant was pretty confident that his reasoning was correct. Kudo smiled, which he took as a sign it was correct

-"That does make sense…so, that settles it. So, here we go, fourth question: **Eleven of us were called here because we were the last survivors of our generations. Miyata was called here to work as Kudo's underling and Ogata was called here because the other option wasn't good for Kudo** "- Toyotomi responded to the question with no doubts.

It didn't take long for the screen to show that it was correct as well. Toyotomi pumped his fist into the air, proud of himself –"Kickass!"-

-"There's only one left! 'Why's the mutual game happening?'"- Yamaguchi read and once again gave her theory about how somebody had wronged that organization, leading to their revenge and the mutual killing game. While Yamaguchi talked, Kudo had to cover his mouth to stop snickering.

-"That's…kggrh…not bad at all…"- he managed to say.

-"But are we right? Did you do all of this to get revenge on us for planning to eliminate Diavolos Avante?" Hikasa interrogated Kudo, once again walking towards his threateningly. Kudo waved his finger around, pointing at the ceiling, and after Hikasa backed off, he calmly spoke.

-"You could say that"-

-"…Let's try. The reason this mutual killing game started in the first place was to **stop the Committee for a Better Tomorrow, meaning us, from banding against Diavolos Avante** "- Akane recited, hoping that it was the correct answer to the last question.

The next few seconds were very tense for her. As if it were in slow motion, she watched how the words appeared on the screen, and waited expectantly for the screen to show if it was correct.

When the screen confirmed it she felt she could finally breathe.

_ Ten questions answered out of ten! Thank you for playing! _

The graduates felt as if that had been the final moment of a nightmare. Akane closed her eyes for a moment, feeling like she was going to cry from the relief. After a while, she opened them. Yamaguchi and Toyotomi were hugging each other, while Hikasa muttered over and over "We did it. We really did it". Yukio was the only one who wasn't celebrating, he seemed thoughtful.

Kudo watched them with amusement, while Monobear simply stood there. Akane had no idea what was going on through the mind of the person controlling the the graduates had more or less calmed down, Kudo talked as if nothing had happened.

-"May I ask why you were all so happy?"-

-"I'm wondering the same"- Yukio said as well.

-"Why…because we solved it! We solved the ten questions and all!"- Yamaguchi replied, not getting why Yukio wasn't ecstatic.

-"And congratulations. As a reward, I'll let you all live in this shelter for the rest of your live. That'll be…what, three, four days?"- Kudo shrugged, disinterested. Slowly the cheerful atmosphere that had invaded them vanished, as they realized that, at the end, they haven't really achieved anything.

-"You'll starve to death too!"- Hikasa replied, twitching

-"I'm not going to stay here, why would I? I have to return to Diavolos Avante's headquarters"-

-"You'll do what? Do you think you can get out of here as if nothing happened?!"- Yamaguchi shouted, getting pale from her frustration

-"Of course I can. I have ways to get out of here. Besides, nobody out there knows about my involvement. Nobody outside will know that I was ever in here. Once you lot die, I'll return and get rid of anything that could link me to this shelter, and that's where it'll all end"-

Yukio nodded. –"Thought so. The only satisfaction I have is that we solved all the mysteries, but…it's futile"-

-"We're not going to let you go!"- Hikasa screamed. Kudo grinned unpleasantly, opening his eyes a lot.

-"Who do you think you are? I'll tell you what we'll do: all of you will stay here while I get out of this trial room. I'll then close the door. In half an hour, Monobear will open it for you, and that's how it all will end. Any questions?"-

Nobody spoke; the graduates gritted their teeth in barely held outrage. Monobear continued unresponsive, staring at Kudo. Akane waited for the bear to say anything, to move, to do anything, but when it was clear he wouldn't and that most likely the person behind the bear would leave them die she took a decision. She wasn't going to let the hijacker to have their revenge after the graduates died. She was going to take the bull by the horns and show Kudo that he had already lost.

And so, she laughed. At first it was softly, but soon she cackled, full of confidence and bravado. Kudo frowned irritated, not understanding it. After a while, Akane finally calmed down, and managed to speak.

-"Kudo-kun, you're so naïve!"-

-"…Naïve"- he said flatly.

-"Yeah! Do you think that you'll get out of here and nobody will be the wiser?"-

-"Of course. Nobody knows I'm here"-

Akane smiled, letting Kudo sweat for a little –"You're wrong. Your game is over, you have been found out and I can guarantee you that you'll die shortly after you return to the headquarters"-

-"Nonsense! That's nonsense!"- Kudo exploded –"I covered my tracks well! Nobody can link me to this shelter, to any of you, to the Future Foundation! I can't be caught! Why don't you give up and accept your death?!"-

-"Why don't you accept that it's over?"- Akane responded calmly

-"Over?! How is it over, dumbass?!"-

-"…Allow me to show you"-

-"Show me, then! You have nothing worthwhile! Be quiet!"- The Philanthropist's face was starting to redden; Akane could swear she saw veins popping on his forehead

_I know for a fact I'm right, it's the only explanation. I don't know what this'll led to, but at the very least I should get the satisfaction of showing him that he's doomed_

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

KUDO: You know nothing!

KUDO: I can't be beaten!

KUDO: You're grasping at straws!

KUDO: It's unthinkable…

KUDO: Nobody knows I'm here!

KUDO: Shut up, shut up!

KUDO: You have nothing on me!

KUDO: Can't you be quiet?!

KUDO: I can't be caught like this…

KUDO: How can't you understand it?!

* * *

** Nobody knows I'm here! I'll return outside as if nothing happened! **

* * *

_Veritas has hijacked Monobear_

* * *

-"Wh…"- Kudo punched the nearest podium, making it fall –"What the heck are you talking about?!"-

-"What I said: Monobear has been hijacked by Veritas"-

-"It's the code you mentioned earlier, isn't it?"- Yukio asked casually. Akane nodded while Kudo looked at Monobear, aghast

-"Exactly. I lied, I do know what it does, mainly because the person who added it left a comment saying what it does. It said it clearly, it was a hijacking code"-

-"So Kudo-kun isn't controlling Monobear right now? Who is it then?"- Hikasa inquired

Akane smiled before pointing at Monobear –"Veritas, leader of Diavolos Avante!"-

Kudo's face started to twitch, starting to step back –"It can't be true. Veritas?...he can't know anything, he can't see anything…"-

-"You know what's the most unforgivable thing a Diavolos Avante member can do, don't you, Kudo-kun?"- Toyotomi asked, feeling almost pity for the Philanthropist –"Betraying their own organization. Veritas loathes traitors"-

-"B-B-But that can't be…betrayed?! I…"- he stammered

-"You got Miyata-kun involved him in this game"- Toyotomi continued relentlessly -"You got him here and because you started this in the first place, he died! You're the one to blame for Miyata-kun's death!"-

-"Monobear had been the one to slit his throat, and you were the one who added the code that killed anybody who said 'Volkos'. You're guilty of betrayal"- Yamaguchi added.

Kudo looked back and forth from Yamaguchi, Toyotomi and Monobear. His uncaring behavior from before was fading, replaced by pure fear -"I…no no no nononononono…"-

Akane watched him panic for a moment before taking a deep breath. _It's time to deal the final hit._ -"Don't you still believe it? Do you need proof?"-

Kudo didn't reply. He just looked at Akane, scared. The Chemist calmly took an object from her lab coat -"If Monobear hadn't been hijacked, something would have happened earlier in this trial. As nothing happened, I can only think that Monobear has been hijacked. It's the only explanation"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Matsukaze's Notepad**

* * *

-"This is Matsukaze-kun's notepad, the one he had when he was murdered. If you see this page…"- she opened it, showing the page with coding -"…you'll see that there was coding that made Monobear kill whoever said 'Volkos'. Now remember what Toyotomi-kun did earlier?"-

-"I had said 'Volkos', but nothing happened…"-

-"…Ooooogh…"- Kudo started to slowly realize, but before he could say anything else, Yukio interrupted.

-"Couldn't he have removed the code?"-

-"No. I saw the changes log of the AI, and there has been no other changes besides adding that code. Not only that, but remember how Kudo-kun tried to remind Monobear about killing Toyotomi? We all heard him"- Akane mentioned the incident that had happened barely an hour before. Kudo closed his eyes, looking like he was going to cry

-"No, I can't…it simply can't be true…"-

-"You were found out, Kudo-kun. You won't be able to return to Diavolos Avante"- Yamaguchi sentenced gravely

-"And the Future Foundation has big suspicions on you already. Don't count on being warmly welcomed by them either"- Toyotomi said in the same tone.

-"Everything you had worked for, in both sides, has crumbled away. What's left for you?"- Hikasa joined.

-"And do you think you could outrun Diavolos Avante? You sinned against them. I don't know much about them but I doubt they'll simply let you live"- Yukio continued.

-"It's already game over for you. We five may not have a chance to live, but you don't either. Thank you for playing"- Akane finished.

Kudo, deep in denial, screamed. It was the scream of a man that had nothing left in the world for him, a cornered animal that didn't want to believe it was over. He repeated it over and over, until he gathered his strengths to say one last thing. –"No! I won't believe! It must be a lie, I can't have…"-

-"Silence"-

Monobear had talked. Kudo looked at Monobear with fright. If Akane was right, then the one talking right now was Veritas, his boss, and everything had been exposed. Veritas spoke mercilessly. –"I had planned to deal with you later, to see your face when you naively returned to the headquarters, directly to your death, but now that this lady…"- Veritas pointed at Akane –"…blew my cover away I may as well finish you here"-

-"…Veritas, forgive me, please, it's not my fault…"- Kudo begged, getting on his knees, but Veritas walked to him and in one swift blow punched him on the side of the face.

-"I ordered you to be silent. You got one of our subordinates here and caused his death. I have seen the memory banks this AI has. You executed him through that code when you had the possibility of leaving him alive. You betrayed a subordinate and that is unforgivable"-

-"No, please, I-I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't…"-

-"It's time for your punishment. This robot is pretty useful, I can access to the execution mechanisms. And here's one that has your name all written over it. Farewell, Volkos"-

_…wait, what? Kudo-kun has an execution machine?_

It seemed like time slowed down for Akane. The moment she saw the familiar chain emerging to drag Kudo to his death, several different thoughts crossed her mind. She remembered the execution rooms, the Hallway Museum, the Hope's Peak files, the password to the Locked Section, what they think happened in their missing week, the letter in the vent, the name 'Volkos' and the flashdrives with their memories.

And she finally knew.

She knew the truth.

And she knew how horribly detailed and planned to the most minimal details the real Mastermind's scheme was.

She knew how the Mastermind had manipulated more than fifteen people to achieve a goal she now had deduced.

She knew who the most likely person to be the real Mastermind was.

But it was all too late. The chain brace grasped Kudo's neck.

-"No! Stop it! Veritas, stop that! We got it wrong, he's innocent! Please, stop!"- She screamed shrilly, but she hadn't even finished her plea when Kudo was dragged away. Everything Akane could do now was watch powerlessly how the Mastermind managed to succeed in the goal for the nightmare they all had been in: kill Kaiji Kudo.

* * *

**Fall from Grace**

Kudo, still using the red sports jacket that marked him as the Mastermind, was standing in a room Akane recognized: it was the mock conference room, one of the execution rooms she hadn't linked anybody to. Kudo was tied to a chair, he was struggling to untie himself, but it was obvious he wouldn't be able to.

A trapdoor opened behind him, making Kudo freeze. Slowly, Monobear approached, controlled by Veritas. Veritas stood in front of Kudo, and for a moment the bear and the false Mastermind stared at each other's eyes. It didn't last long, as Veritas pushed the chair backwards, making it fall along Kudo into the trapdoor.

Kudo was falling down a brightly lit and outrageously deep pit. He now completely still, knew it was too late to attempt escape. The trapdoor closed, forming an emblem he knew very well: Hope's Peak's logo. Kudo fell, observing the walls of the pit. They were decorated with several pictures, reminding him of the lives he had supposedly killed.

Saitou leaning against the wall. Sawashiro dragged into a fiery death. Matsukaze on Monobear's desk. Miyata crushed into a pulp. Sakurai pinned against a screen. Ginchiyo falling into a huge vintage camera. Reiji in the pool. Toriumi shocked to death. Chiba with a stake in her chest. Toyogushi about to explode.

And finally five portraits, corresponding to the five surviving graduates: Akane, Yukio, Hikasa, Yamaguchi and Toyotomi.

Kudo smiled vacantly after all those pictures. He was completely convinced he had been the one to cause those soon-to-be fifteen deaths, and he didn't care now that all hope had abandoned him. He had fought valiantly to make Diavolos Avante rise into the position they deserved.

Finally he crashed against the ground. Surprisingly, the fall didn't kill him. With was now paralyzed, still tried to the chair, looking upwards. From the top of the pit a round slab of stone started falling, flipping in the air like a coin. He had the feeling it was where Hope's Peak's emblem had been engraved.

Kudo never knew how long it took for the slab to crush him, but it did. The heavy slab fell onto Kudo and the ground, obliterating him. The noise was humongous, sending shivers up the surviving graduates' backs. Akane looked at what had been engraved to the other side of the slab, Diavolos Avante's emblem.

* * *

Akane powerlessly cried in despair. She had been too late to reach the truth, and now Kudo had died. Despite all the efforts, all those days and all the pain they had endured, the Mastermind had won.

Did it matter to catch that person now? She wasn't sure.

-"What's wrong, Ogata-san? Why the sudden…"- Yukio asked, unsure how to call Akane's outburst just before Kudo's execution.

-"We…we have made a mistake"-

-"A mistake?"- Yamaguchi was confused –"How could we have done a mistake?"-

-"There was no mistake here, Ogata. Volkos was responsible for this"- Veritas, still controlling Monobear, also said. Then turning to the rest: -"Thank you five for helping unveil his plot. However I can't let you all outside"-

-"Why not?"- Hikasa inquired. He was wary of Veritas, as most would have been.

-"It was revealed that the purpose of you people's presence here was to conspire against my organization. I can't allow any of you to exit this place now"-

-"We weren't going to", either way"- Toyotomi muttered bitterly.

-"Shortly, hopefully, my crew will burst into the shelter. As a reward to you all for unveiling Volkos' plot, I'll order them to give you all quick and painless deaths. Give me a minute…"- Veritas seemed to go away from whatever he was using to control Monobear. Yukio, deciding to take advantage of Veritas' time out, asked Akane what she had meant.

-"I…I can't explain it easily, but if I'm right, we all have made a terrible mistake. Not only us. If I'm right, that Veritas man was caught in a lie too"-

-"You can't be serious!"- Toyotomi shouted. In that moment, Veritas returned and Monobear started moving again.

-"I had given the order. Now I'll open the doors so you all go outside this room and settle your regrets. Thank you all for…"-

-"Excuse me! Veritas!"- Akane said forcefully, as loud as she could –"This has been a huge, huge mess…you don't know all the truth"-

-"What are you saying?"- Veritas wasn't sure if he approved the interruption.

-"I'll get to the point: Kudo wasn't the Mastermind. Our real enemy is still alive"-

The reactions were as she expected: complete and utter surprise, and instantaneous demands of an explanation. When the graduates more or less calmed, Veritas spoke again. –"You have ten seconds to explain what you mean"-

-"I mean that what we know has been distorted by the real Mastermind, and Kudo…Volkos…wasn't responsible for anything. And I can prove it!"- Akane made emphasis on the last five words. She needed to convince Veritas that it had been a mistake.

Veritas thought for a moment before finally sighing. –"I'll give you one chance to prove it, but mark my words: I am completely positive there has been no mistake"-

-"There has. I have one question, before I start: you can control the screen, right?"-

-"It…It seems to be a function in this AI, at least partly. I only have control on the answer typing itself. The correctness of it is something beyond my control…must be part of the screen programming itself…"- Veritas started rambling in technical terms Akane had no idea about. She cleared her throat to interrupt him once again.

-"I need you to delete a few answers that I'm positive we got wrong…"- and Akane started giving instructions. With each answer erased, Akane's confidence rose.

_I can't let this end this way. It' partly my fault that Kudo died. I must reveal the truth_

At the end of Akane's instructions, six questions had been blanked.

**How is Diavolos Avante involved in this mutual killing game?**

**How is SHSL Despair involved in this mutual killing game?**

**Why were you sixteen chosen to be part of the game?**

**Why is the mutual killing game happening?**

**Is everybody here who they say they are?**

**Who is the Mastermind?**

-"These are the questions we got incorrectly or incomplete"-

-"But those are…"- Yukio read the questions over and over –"…most of our case was based on those answers!"-

-"They were. Let's fix what went wrong…"-

-"Okay, that's enough"- Veritas had no more patience –"That was somewhat interesting, but it doesn't mean that we're wrong. I haven't seen a shred of evidence that could indicate otherwise, so I'm ending this now!"-

_No! Okay, first things first: show him undeniable evidence there was something very wrong!_

* * *

**Four questions out of ten: answered**


	43. Chapter 6: The Angels, the Devils and the Humans - Trial IV

-"Then I'll start with something that I should have thought about earlier. Read this:"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Letter in the Vent**

* * *

Akane passed Veritas the letter she had found in the vent in the Locked Section, the vent that had allowed her to see the rioters outside the shelter. Veritas took the letter with Monobear's paws and read it. The bear's eyes glowed dangerously when he was done with that. –"What's the meaning of this?"-

-"I think that this is a calling to somebody outside this shelter, prompting them to enter quickly and kill Volkos"- Akane emphasized the last few words –"That's what I think it means. It shows that there was somebody trying to kill Volkos, won't you agree?"-

-"That could have been sent by Chiba-san or Toyotomi-kun. That's a Future Foundation envelope"- Hikasa commented, eyeing the envelope that had fallen to the floor. Akane shook her head.

-"No, not possible. This letter was found in the Locked Section. Neither Chiba-san or Toyotomi-kun would have been able to write and send it"-

-"Send it? It's more likely this was for somebody in this shelter!"- Yukio argued.

-"No! Look at the content. "Break the door down", "Volkos will escape". I think everybody here knows very well it was impossible to break that door down, not to mention that Volkos isn't out there! This is undoubtedly from somebody who was here inside this shelter for somebody outside"-

-"Then…then how was it found inside the Locked Section?"- Yamaguchi striked back. The graduates weren't attacking Akane's argument because they didn't want her to do it. They attacked because they couldn't believe in that moment that Kudo wasn't the Mastermind.

-"I think that it's simple: the letter was sent back into the shelter, or maybe it wasn't even sent in the first place"- the Chemist responded. For a moment they had gotten into uncharted terrain for her.

-"But-But-But that's ludicrous! We're in a shelter buried in middle of the city; the only entrance is a room in a subway! Who would have received that letter?! I doubt that anybody would go by coincidence into that room to find a letter!"- Toyotomi contributed as well.

-"Besides there's no way to contact anybody from inside this place. It isn't like your supposed Mastermind contacted somebody outside to tell to pick a letter up"- Yukio added.

-"If there were a way to contact somebody then why not to use that instead of a letter? It'd be quicker and less complicated"- Hikasa made another good point. Akane put a finger on her forehead and took a moment to think, and saw a good solution for that.

-"I think what matters here is when this letter could have been sent. Seeing how this is complaining that Kudo isn't dead and that he was going to escape…it's likely a good amount of time had passed already. Maybe…this was sent during the last day or two days?"-

-"That doesn't answer our question"-

-"I'm not done! If this letter was sent during that timeframe I could guarantee it would have been read"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**The People Outside**

* * *

-"Does any of you remember when the noises outside started?"-

-"…oh! I see! So you think this letter was passed to them. If they were right outside the shelter, it's to be expected they'd receive it!"- Yamaguchi realized. Akane confirmed that was exactly what she had thought.

-"Would Kudo-kun send a letter like that to make himself look innocent?"- Toyotomi wondered.

-"I really doubt that. It'd be…"- Akane didn't finish what she was going to say, Veritas had interrupted her.

-"Ogata, I knew you couldn't bring conclusive evidence. This means nothing in light of one single fact"-

-"And what would it be?"-

-"Volkos confessed"-

Akane closed her eyes, understanding the point. Veritas continued, convinced of his words –"Why would he confess if he wasn't the Mastermind? And not only that: he clearly knew very well a lot of information only the Mastermind would know. It's damning evidence! And no, he wouldn't cover for anybody"-

-"…Veritas, there's an explanation for that. Kudo-kun had no more option than claiming to be the Mastermind"-

-"If he wasn't the real one and he knew the Mastermind, I can guarantee he wouldn't protect him! Volkos has a special trait: cowardice. You saw how he broke down once it was clear he wouldn't triumph in his plan and then tried to claim it wasn't his fault. A man like him wouldn't protect somebody like an accomplice if it meant saving himself!"-

Akane shrugged –"I agree"-

-"Then why are we still discussing this?! All of you get out of here before I get angry!"- Veritas had made Monobear unsheathe his claws and was threatening the graduates –"We have nothing left to talk about"-

_There's something he doesn't know about. Once he does, I could force him to reconsider his certainty that Kudo is the Mastermind. If only he shut up for a moment…_

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

VERITAS: Scram! Get out!

VERITAS: Volkos is the Mastermind of the shelter

VERITAS: He can't have pretended to be the Mastermind

VERITAS: Volkos is a coward!

VERITAS: Stop dragging this around!

VERITAS: Why don't you shut up and leave?

VERITAS: I can't have been wrong about this!

VERITAS: His confession was absolute!

VERITAS: Nonsense!

VERITAS: Silence! I said Silence!

* * *

** Volkos had no reason to confess something he isn't! **

* * *

_Modified memories via flashdrives_

* * *

-"Veritas, I suppose you know about the Memory Restoration Machine. We talked about it earlier"-

-"I know a lot about it. I have a machine based on the blueprints one of my agents stole. Are we done here?"- Veritas replied. Toyotomi raised an eyebrow, making a mental note about asking for more information later.

-"Part of our memories were deleted and stored in some flashdrives. However when I examined the contents, I found out something: the memories could be modified"-

-"…modified?"- Veritas sounded intrigued

-"Akane-chan, are you insinuating that Kudo-kun's memories were modified to make him think he was the Mastermind?"-

-"That's exactly what I think happened. I don't fully know how the modifications work, but it's a possibility we can't ignore"-

-"…no, I can't have…he confessed. He confessed, I did nothing wrong!"-

-"You screwed up!"- Akane suddenly shouted –"You killed an innocent person! Volkos had done nothing wrong and you killed him!"-

Veritas started breathing deeply. For a moment no sound came from Monobear, and then a murmur echoed in the trial room. It sounded like Veritas had started ranting far enough for the graduates to not to understand a word of it, possibly fueled by guilt or claims of revenge towards whoever led him to kill Volkos. After several awkward minutes, Veritas returned to Monobear and cleared his throat.

-"Okay, I accept the possibility. But then who is the Mastermind? Do you know who is it?"-

Akane hesitated for a moment before nodding –"I do"-

-"Is it…somebody in here?"- Hikasa looked around in distrust. The graduates waited expectantly for Akane to answer that.

-"All answers when they're due. I think it would be good for you all to see how we were caught in this mess and manipulated into thinking Volkos was the Mastermind"-

-"Okay, then start"- Veritas ordered, impatient.

Akane took a deep breath and ordered her thoughts. When she got ready, she spoke eloquently, hoping to make her logic clear. –"I'd like us to remember what had made us think Volkos was the Mastermind…one of them were the execution rooms"-

-"You couldn't link any to Kudo-kun"- Toyotomi summarized

-"Yes. However there was one simple solution to that problem…I can't believe I overlooked it. There was even a hint…what solved the problem with the execution rooms is simple"-

_Kudo's execution room was hidden_

_An execution room could be used for more than one person_

_Kudo wasn't going to die in an execution room_

_Kudo had no execution room at all_

**An execution room could be used for more than one person**

-"I should have thought it…it's possible that an execution room was made for more than one graduate, isn't it?"-

-"So are you saying the conference room we saw was for somebody else's execution as well?"- Hikasa tried to confirm.

-"I think so. It's just like the twins' room, that should have been a hint that a single room could work for more than one person"-

-"Alright, but the execution rooms weren't the only thing that pointed to Kudo-kun!"- Yamaguchi intervened –"The Hallway Museum didn't have an exhibition about him…that showed there was something odd about Kudo-kun"-

-"That's easy to explain as well. It was something the Mastermind did that on purpose. They did it to…"-

* * *

_Brag about their achievements_

_Make Kudo look suspicious_

_Reveal Toyotomi's identity_

_Help us bond_

* * *

**Make Kudo look suspicious**

* * *

-"…Kudo-kun's missing exhibition made him look suspicious, you said it yourself. That's another way the Mastermind got out attention on the scapegoat. The real Mastermind really did everything they could do to mislead us…"- Akane answered. Yamaguchi considered it for a moment, and nodded, accepting that reasoning.

-"What about the letters? The ones that summoned us here…Kudo-kun's was missing. "- Yukio remembered –"That was once another point against him.

-"The letters…that's simple, too. There's an explanation for that"-

* * *

_The Mastermind hid it_

_Kudo destroyed it_

_It's still in the compactor_

_It never existed_

* * *

**It never existed**

* * *

-"That letter never existed. Kudo-kun was here since the beginning, as a Future Foundation member, along with Chiba-san and Toyotomi-kun. He admitted being an agent, despite being a mole. His real alignment doesn't change the fact that he never needed a letter in the first place"- Akane had once again given a reasonable explanation to a clue against Kudo. Yukio closed his eyes, grimacing. It was clear he was disappointed to not to have realized that as well.

-"What about the kitchen knife?"- This time Toyotomi was the one to confront Akane's reasoning –"Kudo-kun confessed that too. Are you saying that somebody framed him for that as well?"-

-"Hmmmm…I think that…"-

* * *

_…Kudo did try to kill Akane_

_…the Mastermind tried to kill Akane_

_…nobody tried to kill Akane_

_…Yukio tried to kill Akane_

* * *

**…Kudo did try to kill Akane**

* * *

-"…I think that he did try to kill me"- Akane said as flatly as she could. She didn't want to show how much it horrified her –"When I woke up I did hear a strange sound when I hugged Kudo-kun…I bet that was the knife falling to the floor"-

-"Kudo-kun was afraid of you, and he thought he was the Mastermind. It does seem possible"- Yukio supported Akane. Toyotomi expressed that it was very likely they were correct about that as well.

-"What about this bear?"- Veritas waved Monobear's arms, getting everybody's attention –"If Kudo-kun wasn't the Mastermind then who brought this bear?"-

-"The real Mastermind, of course!"- Akane replied quickly.

-"Then the Mastermind had to be here since the beginning of these events…one of the first three to be here. That's the only way Monobear could have been brought here"-

-"So that makes Chiba-san and Toyotomi-kun the suspects, eh?"- Hikasa crossed his arms, looking at Toyotomi, who quickly stammered a few words in his defense.

-"No, it doesn't mean they're suspects!"- Akane defended Toyotomi as quick as she could. She didn't believe he was the Mastermind –"Anybody could have the chance to bring Monobear. I have good reasons to think that after our first meeting here in the shelter we were allowed outside again"-

-"And why do you think that?"- Hikasa queried.

-"I think I can explain it better with this:"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**List of Belongings**

* * *

-"Remember the list in Chiba-san's room? The one about our belongings? I honestly doubt any of us went around carrying all this stuff"- Akane gestured at the length of each person's belongings list –"Somehow all of us managed to bring all this stuff. I propose that the Mastermind brought Monobear concealed among their belongings"-

-"Now that she mentions it, I remember entering the shelter and blacking out…but I had nothing at that moment"- Yamaguchi mused –"She must be right, we were able to go outside and bring everything…somehow"-

-"Okay, okay! I get it, you think you're right and Volkos wasn't the Mastermind"- Veritas interrupted. Akane noticed that his voice was trembling slightly, she supposed that he was very afraid he had killed Kudo for no reason –"But then why did you all think it was him? How did you know about his existence?"-

-"We did since a long time ago"- Hikasa replied

-"Did you tell them about us, agent?"- Veritas questioned Toyotomi. The Prosthetic Makeup Artist waved his arms around, rejecting the thought

-"I didn't do such thing! I had no reason to tell them anything about Diavolos Avante"-

-"Yeah, that's correct. He told us what he knew just an hour and half ago"- Akane jumped on Toyotomi's defense. He quickly thanked her, but brought up the next point of discussion.

-"Then how was it that we started suspecting Volkos of being the Mastermind?"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Code of the Locked Section / Sensors in the Walls / Hope's Peak's Files / Hope's Peak / Matsukaze's Notepad / Curtis' Annotations / Medium Session: Lines Received / Face on the Wall / Small Key_

* * *

VERITAS: How long have you known about Volkos?

HIKASA: I don't remember…maybe **_since the beginning?_**

YAMAGUCHI: No, I think that it had been…

YAMAGUCHI: …afte ** _r the second murder_**

YUKIO: It was after the **_third murder_**

TOYOTOMI: Does it really matter when was it?

TOYOTOMI: I think we should focus on what…

TOYOTOMI: …made us start suspecting him.

YUKIO: Both facts are vital

YUKIO: Isn't there something that could answer both?

* * *

-"There IS something"- Akane said –"And with that I'll start giving you all the solution I have reached"- The Chemist took from her coat Matsukaze's notepad, and opened it to show the pages –"Remember this page? Here's where we heard about Volkos for the first time"- the page Akane showed was the one that said 'Volkos' in large letters.

-"…I was right! That's where I remember hearing about it, the code that killed Miyata-kun!"- Yamaguchi said happily

-"Yes, Miyata-kun's death was another thing that made us suspect Volkos"- Yukio contributed –"We had thought it had been done because Volkos had something to hide"-

-"Let me see that"- Akane passed Veritas the notepad. Monobear grabbed it as well as he could and read the content –"I know nothing about this coding, but…this isn't something a beginner could do. Whoever wrote this must be experienced with coding"-

-"So we all started suspecting Volkos because of that code"- Hikasa summarized. Akane nodded.

-"Exactly, but that wasn't the only thing that made us have our eyes on Volkos. There's another piece of evidence that was even more condemning than the code"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Matsukaze's Notebook**

* * *

-"This notebook. Do any of you know what this is?"-

-"It's where Matsukaze-kun had written his suspicions! But the Mastermind tore the pages off before we could find out…"- Hikasa recognized the notebook, after all, Kudo had been the one who had fished it out of the compactor.

-"Ah! I see!"- Yamaguchi realized what was Akane's point –"Miyata-kun had destroyed that notebook! And since he had insinuated he was a Diavolos Avante member…"-

-…we all got to the conclusion that Volkos, as a member of that group, had to be the Mastermind! It was all because Miyata-kun had destroyed that notebook"- Toyotomi finished Yamaguchi's statement. Akane confirmed that was what she meant.

-"But that's not all"- Akane continued –"Because here I go to destroy what we know: no pages of this notebook has been tore off"-

-"Oh? You mean that the Mastermind maybe erased the notes somehow?"- Hikasa took the notebook to examine it.

-"Or maybe it was written with invisible ink, I wouldn't put it past a detective"- Yukio suggested as well.

-"Those are kind of silly solutions. The truth doesn't have to be complicated, guys. Sometimes the most simple option is the correct one"-

-"So you tell us, Ogata…what happened to Matsukaze's notes about his suspicions?"- Veritas asked.

* * *

_They're in another notebook_

_They really are written in invisible ink_

_They never existed_

_They're inside the covers_

* * *

**They never existed**

* * *

-"…Matsukaze-kun never wrote his deductions"-

Akane's answer froze everybody up. There was a single thought in everybody's minds, all of them were asking one question: "Why didn't Matsukaze write it?"

-"Ma-Maybe…we have the wrong notebook here…"- Yamaguchi said half-heartedly. It was obvious she didn't believe that.

-"...could it be that he simply forgot?"- Yukio theorized.

-"No. He said to me very clearly that he had written his deductions in here. Hikasa-kun knows about the notebook too, and in the trial, I mentioned that the notebook had Matsukaze-kun's clues to find the Mastermind. It's impossible Matsukaze-kun forgot"-

-"But then that would mean he…lied?"- Toyogushi said tentatively –"Why would he lie about that? It doesn't make any sense he would, if he was working so hard to get us out of here…"

-"Everybody here suspects the reason for that, don't we?"- Akane said as gently as she could. What she was going to say now was going to be a tough thing to swallow, mainly because none of them wanted to believe it. They all wanted to remember the Detective as somebody who had fought as hard as possible to save everybody and died as a hero. Akane took a deep breath and said with as much determination as she could.

-"Guys…I present you the real Mastermind behind everything in this shelter"-

* * *

Akane Ogata

Chihiro Toriumi

Masashi Sakurai

Aya Sawashiro

Mika Yamaguchi

Reiji Ohmoto

Mishio Matsukaze

Saburou Hikasa

Kaiji Kudo

Ginchiyo

Masaru Miyata

Hoshio Saitou

Takeshi Toyogushi

Yukio Ohmoto

Masamune Toyotomi

Tomoe Chiba

* * *

**Mishio Matsukaze**

* * *

-"Matsukaze-kun is the only one who fits the Mastermind's work now. He was the one who threw us onto the trail of Volkos' supposed suspiciousness. He is the only one who we could expect to know how to lead everybody into a conclusion. And he…damn it, how couldn't we see it before…"- Akane smacked her forehead in disappointment –"He had the most suspicious death"-

-"The most suspicious death?"- Veritas inquired.

-"…Does any of you remember this?"-

* * *

_-"No, come on. Monobear, this can't be serious"- Akane glared at Monobear –"Did Matsukaze-san have internal bleeding?"-_

_-"Of course he did! I was wondering when you bastards would notice"- was his reply. Akane groaned aloud_

_-"But how were we expected to know?! Why the hell didn't you say that from the beginning?!"-_

_-"I didn't say anything false. He died from exsanguination but there was no significant blood loss. Most of it is still inside his body! Gyahahahaha!"-_

_-"…Bullshit. That's pure bullshit"- Toriumi spat, very disgusted_

_-"I can't avoid wondering about something, though…Monobear, if you didn't even know that Matsukaze had even entered your office, how did you know he died because of internal bleeding? "- Yukio inquired._

_-"…"- For once Monobear didn't seem sure how to respond_

_-"For the love of…this is a hole in the very fabric of logic in this place!"- The other twin commented_

_-"Okay, I'm just going to wave my paw, and we'll all pretend the whole internal bleeding business was cleared up since the beginning, alright? Now continue with the trial!"-_

* * *

-"We should have paid more attention to Monobear's slip there…it should have been an indication that there was something way too strange about his death"- Akane lamented her oversight.

-"So everything was a lie? Matsukaze-kun never tried to help us?"- Yamaguchi said gloomly

-"Most likely he was checking if there were any loose ends in his plan"- Yukio commented, fingering his sleeves –"He was going to pretend to die, after all. It wasn't like it'd be easy for him to influence us after the trial for his murder"-

-"Mishio Matsukaze…he sounds familiar. He really does. I'm sure I have known him before, but I can't remember…"- Veritas mumbled, trying to focus.

-"You're not going to say he's a member of Diavolos Avante, are you?"- Toyotomi asked shakily

-"No. I'm positive he isn't one of my followers"-

For a while silence filled the courtroom. Nobody was sure what to say.

Akane was sure that the Mastermind, whether she was right or not, had listened to her accusation. If not through Monobear, somehow, then through the IDs, but would that affect anything? Would Matsukaze come to the trial room and reveal that she was right?

She still didn't know if it had been something smart to do.

-"No, just wait a second here. There's something wrong here, there must be!"- Toyotomi suddenly said, elevating his voice –"He can't be the Mastermind! He was a good man, there must be a mistake!"- His voice was starting to waver.

-"There's no mistake, man. We have been played for fools"- Hikasa replied flatly

-"But he was working so hard on saving us! We can't taint his memory!"-

-"Toyotomi-kun, if it wasn't Volkos, it can only been him…"- Akane started saying, but Toyotomi didn't let her finish

-"How can you even suggest that he faked his death?! That'd need a dead body, in the first place, one identical to him! And I'm sure there is no cloning machine around here. How could he have done that?!"-

_This must be the last thing holding us from the truth…if I can demonstrate it was possible for him to fake his death, then it'll finally be accepted._

* * *

**Panic Talk Battle**

* * *

TOYOTOMI: He wouldn't do this!

TOYOTOMI: Did he have a twin or what?!

TOYOTOMI: We all saw his dead body

TOYOTOMI: He wanted the best for us…

TOYOTOMI: Insane, this is insane

TOYOTOMI: This can't be the truth

TOYOTOMI: We missed something, we must have!

TOYOTOMI: There are no corpses lying around!

TOYOTOMI: Where did he go, then?

TOYOTOMI: We'd all have known if he were the Mastermind

* * *

** How could he have faked a dead body?! **

* * *

_Smart use of prosthetic makeup_

* * *

-"Toyotomi-kun, you should know better than anybody else how one can do something like this. Isn't your talent a way to do it?"-

-" talent? How…one can't make a corpse out of creams and yeast, Ogata-san!"- Toyotomi said incredulously

-"No. I think that he already had a corpse available. He just used the makeup to make it look like him. I found some makeup like yours in the Locked Section, and I bet that's what it was used for"- at that point Akane took the roll of lavender string and held it high –"Does this color look familiar to any of you?"-

-"That looks like Matsukaze-kun's hair color"- Yamaguchi answered

-"Yes. I'm sure that the fake corpse's hair was done with this, a wig or something"-

-"But again, a corpse would be needed! It isn't like he had one! The ones in the morgue must be no more than bones, and neither Saitou-kun or Sawashiro-san's dead body was even close to Matsukaze-kun's robustness. Body shapes aren't something easy to replicate if one isn't an expert, and I doubt he was an expert"- Toyotomi continued arguing

-"He does have a point there. Where would Matsukaze-kun obtain a dead body?"- Yukio supported him. Akane fidgeted under their gazes, they had finally asked something she had no idea about.

-"I…I don't know"-

-"If it was an old body I'm sure it'd have been cold. He had supposedly died less than half an hour before we found him so he should still have been somewhat warm. Did anybody touch the body?"- Judging by the silence, nobody had done that.

-"Toriumi-san and I had approached it but neither of us touched its skin…so no idea about the temperature"- Akane said

-"Why don't we go check the morgue?"- Hikasa proposed –"Let's take a look at Matsukaze-kun's corpse and finish this discussion once and for all. You don't have a problem with that, right?"- he looked at Monobear

-"No problem, as long as I can tag along to ensure there's no funny business from any of you"- Veritas replied.

-"Then let's go and…"-

-"That won't be necessary"- a voice sounded from the entrance to the trial room. Everybody turned around, having recognized it.

[ ](http://s874.photobucket.com/user/SAnyone/media/Matsukaze-mastermind.jpg.html)

  
Matsukaze was standing on the entrance, hat on his hand. Besides the dark colors that showed his status as the Mastermind, he also had two strange belts crossing his body, filled with spikes, possibly for defense or to deter anybody from approaching and attacking him. He had a gun with him and was now pointing intermittently at each graduate, until he finally lowered it. –"Here I am. Alive"-

Toyotomi cringed, giving up in his argument. Nobody in the room could avert their eyes from the truth now.

-"Answer for the tenth question: **Mishio Matsukaze is the Mastermind** "- Akane said, but the screen didn't register anything. Not that she needed it to confirm if it was correct.

* * *

**Five questions answered out of ten**


	44. Chapter 6: The Angels, the Devils and the Humans - Trial V

Matsukaze walked to his podium and nonchalantly pushed his portrait to the ground –"So I'm here. What does that tell you to you all?"-

-"..She was right. You are the Mastermind!"- Hikasa shouted. Matsukaze sighed as if he was disappointed by such reply.

-"Is that all?"-

-"How did you fake your death?"- Yukio asked as calmed as he could be. The Detective stared at Yukio with the same expression he had before.

-"I thought Ogata-san had solved that riddle. Do any of you have an intelligent question to ask?"- Matsukaze remarked the word 'intelligent'. It was obvious for anybody that he didn't hold anybody else in high regard.

-"How did you convince Miyata-kun to agree being your accomplice?"- Toyotomi inquired.

-"Finally, something that isn't glaringly obvious! But I won't answer that"- the Detective grinned. He was enjoying the situation immensely –"Ogata-san, everybody knows that you're by far the best at deducing from everybody here. Why don't you tell them?"-

Akane didn't give Matsukaze the satisfaction of knowing how much he was annoying her with his condescending attitude, but when she was going to say how, the Detective gestured her to wait –"Even better, why don't we have a match of wits? Let's play a game called 'How did the second murder go?'"-

-"I'm wondering that too"- Yamaguchi commented –"There are many points we need to clarify. Let's start from the beginning and work from there"-

-"So, Ogata-san? Do you think you can be the greatest investigative mind of the century's peer?"- Matsukaze smiled warmly, but Akane shuddered at the sight. She felt a venomous aura on him, as if he was going to spit venom on her face. She gathered her courage and replied.

-"I can"-

-"How brave of you. So, let's start by discussing Miyata's involvement in this"-

* * *

**Nonstop Debate**

* * *

_Prosthetic Makeup / Letter in the Vent / Shady Flashdrives / Letters from the Future Foundation / Chiba's Strategies / IDs / Chute on the Ceiling / Blackout / Face on the Wall_

* * *

MATSUKAZE: Let me start by saying that Miyata…

MATSUKAZE: …had no reason to collaborate with me

YAMAGUCHI: You **_threatened him_** , didn't you?

MATSUKAZE: Who gave you permission to talk?

MATSUKAZE: This is between me and her

OGATA: Doesn't matter, let them speak

MATSUKAZE: Okay, let's hear what the peanut gallery has to say

YUKIO: Miyata-kun **_had a reason_** to be your accomplice!

MATSUKAZE: Then prove he did!

YUKIO: ….

HIKASA: **_He thought he had killed you_** …somehow

MATSUKAZE: And how did I do that?

HIKASA: …

TOYOTOMI: **_He attacked the dead body_** …

TOYOTOMI: …thinking it was you

MATSUKAZE: That doesn't even warrant a reply

MATSUKAZE: Is that all you clowns have to say?

OGATA: That was enough for me

OGATA: One of them just said what happened

* * *

-"Miyata-kun thought he had killed you. You could have made him think that easily, the same way you made Kudo-kun think he was the Mastermind: by tampering with his memories"-

-"Of course! Miyata-kun wouldn't doubt his own memories, especially in such short notice"- Yamaguchi agreed.

-"Yes! That's what must have happened! You made Miyata-kun go with you into the Locked Section, forced him to get the tampered memories into his skull and then left him back in the office. Then when he saw the dead body, he started controlling Monobear to set the bomb and…"-

-"Stop right there!"- Matsukaze raised his hand authoritatively –"Your logic doesn't hold up"-

-"What did I say wrong?"- Akane queried, her eye twitching.

-"Yeah, what is it? I saw no mistake!"- Toyotomi supported her fervently.

-"It's rather easy"- Matsukaze took something from his pockets and strew it all over his podium –"These are the remains of the bomb that exploded in the locker long ago. Each Monobear has a bomb inside their bodies. Now, how do you propose Miyata-kun knew about the bombs?"-

-"...he couldn't have known about them?"- Hikasa understood Matsukaze's insinuation

-"That's what I mean. Only the Mastermind would know about the bombs"-

-"Well, you told him!"- Veritas piped up. Matsukaze rolled his eyes, annoyed

-"There's no reason at all to tell him about such a thing. It could be dangerous for me, you know"-

_There must be a way Miyata-kun knew about the bombs...but I can't think any! How did he know?_

* * *

_Miyata had dissected a Monobear_

_Miyata was merely lucky_

_Miyata didn't know at all_

_Matsukaze told Miyata about it_

* * *

**Miyata didn't know at all**

* * *

-"I really can't think of a way Miyata-kun could have known about it"- Akane said softly –"It may be impossible"-

-"So that means you gave up on that?"- the Mastermind laughed for a moment –"That was a short-lived flame, the one in your heart. Almost disappointing"-

-"Akane-chan, you can't be giving up!"- Yukio exclaimed

-"I'm not giving up, it's just that I don't see a way for Miyata-kun to have known that"- Akane replied, grabbing her head

-"So? Let's try to turn this around"- the Assistant proposed –"If it was impossible for Miyata-kun to know that, then maybe Miyata-kun didn't do anything with the bombs in the first place!"-

-"That...could be..."- Akane said slowly, an idea forming in her head

-"So if Miyata-kun didn't do it, who did? There were very few people in that office shortly before the "murder". One of them must have controlled Monobear and the bomb"-

* * *

_Hikasa_

_Chiba_

_Matsukaze_

_Kudo_

* * *

**Matsukaze**

* * *

-"He said it"- Akane pointed at Matsukaze with her thumb –"Only the Mastermind could know about the bombs...then he must be the only one who would be able to use them"-

-"That seems...very likely"- Toyotomi accepted –"But then that means Matsukaze-kun planned not only his false murder, but what happened after it as well"-

-"That's insane...how could he have thought such a plan..."- Yamaguchi lowered her eyes, forlorn.

-"So, Matsukaze-kun, I think that you tampered with Miyata-kun's memories, making him think he had killed you and made the plan to distract everybody with the bomb, knocked him out, hid him somewhere, and meanwhile, you controlled Monobear yourself and made him explode"- Akane summarized.

-"And he wouldn't even need the signal interceptor"- Hikasa pointed –"He could do it with whatever he has been using to control Monobear. The interceptor could have been a fake, too"-

Matsukaze clapped, relaxed –"Nice, nice. Not bad, Ogata-san"- and then, turning to Hikasa –"The interceptor is the real deal. Chiba-san confirmed it herself when she assembled part of it"-

-"That doesn't matter"-

-"Ooooh, it DOES matter!"- The Detective made a flourish with his hand towards Chiba's portrait –"You see, Chiba-san was my accomplice in this!"-

-"What?! How can you say that?!"- Akane jumped instantly on Chiba's defense.

-"How do you think I obtained the interceptor? She gave it to me for this plan!"-

-"No, that can't be true too. Both Chiba-san and Matsukaze-kun being evil? What's next, Ogata-san revealing she has conspired too against us?"- Hikasa asked tiredly. Akane wasn't amused by that, although she had the feeling Hikasa wasn't really joking.

-"I'm not conspiring against anybody. But really, Matsukaze-kun, do you expect us to believe that?"-

-"Maybe he erased her memories about that"- Yukio suggested.

-"Do you have any idea how boring everything would be if it could be answered with "oh he must have tampered memories"? There must be other explanations for this"- Veritas groaned.

-"I agree with him. Chalking everything up to modified memories won't help us in any way. Let's think...first than all, do we really think Chiba-san would have helped Matsukaze-kun as an accomplice?"- Yamaguchi said

-"Chiba-san clearly remembered having given Matsukaze-kun the interceptor"- Yukio pointed –"Didn't she say that he had come to her asking specifically for that machine? How did he know about it?"-

-"So in the end all boils down to how Matsukaze-kun could have known about the interceptor before Chiba-san could even tell him about it"- Hikasa thought for a moment –"Her memories would..."-

-"Can't you shut up about the memories? " Matsukaze said, bored –"Are you all intending to use that as an easy answer? Looks like I was overestimating you all when I thought you guys had the IQ of a braindead chimpanzee. The only thing you need to believe is that Chiba-san was my accomplice too. Accept that the other friend who worked to get you lot out of here was a despicable traitor as well"-

-"You can't expect us to believe that"- Akane said defiantly. Matsukaze smiled nastily, opening his arms.

-"Then enlighten me, Ogata-san! How could I have known about the signal interceptor? The only way is that she herself helped me as an accomplice!"-

-"No. You could have known easily"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**List of Belongings**

* * *

-"This list was found in Chiba-san's room, but we proved it was impossible for it to have been there before her death"- Akane said, showing the list of belongings –"So how did it get there? I can only suppose the Mastermind put it there. If you had it all the time, it's no surprise you'd know about the signal interceptor!"- to confirm her reasoning, she showed that in the part about Chiba's stuff, it clearly said '1 prototype of a military signal interceptor'.

Matsukaze closed his eyes, accepting his defeat there. "Okay, I admit I knew about it. Chiba-san is innocent"-

-"What else is there to discuss?"- The Chemist asked, ready for whatever Matsukaze could say now.

-"Now I think I'll mention the most important part of this murder: the dead body. Who is it, then?"-

-"It can't have been made of makeup, as I said before. A real body must have been underneath the makeup"- Toyotomi reminded them.

-"Couldn't it have been a mannequin?"- Veritas proposed

-"You would have to be blind to not to differentiate a mannequin from a body. I didn't even approach it but I could see it was real"- Yamaguchi said bluntly.

-"Then who could it be? It can't be a body that was here for years! That person must have died recently, but I have no idea who..."- Hikasa murmured, thinking.

Akane watched the graduates strive to think about the body. The truth is that not even she knew about that. It was very likely Matsukaze himself had killed somebody to use as the decoy, but that wouldn't answer who it was. The Mastermind was looking at everybody, his expression showing how proud he was of his superiority.

_We can't clear that hurdle yet. Maybe we should focus on something else for now._

-"Matsukaze-kun, there are other questions too"- Akane said –"Let's try them first"-

-"Ooooh? Was this too hard for you? How pitiful!"- he mocked her half-heartedly. Akane supposed he was somewhat disappointed she had changed the topic –"What would you like to talk about?"-

-"There are four questions left we still need to solve. Once we do, everything should be clear"- she wasn't sure of that, but it wasn't a bad idea to inform everybody else of her reasoning. Especially Veritas. He needed to know how everything had gotten to that point. Akane stated the four questions left, and chose one to start. –"Let's go in order, I think…first: how Diavolos Avante was involved in this?"-

-"Are you completely sure this man isn't a member of your cult?"- Toyotomi asked condescendingly. Veritas didn't show his frustration at his organization being called a 'cult' when he answered.

-"No, he isn't. I have files about every single member around the world. This man isn't one of my followers"-

-"…did he say around the world?"- Yukio whispered to Toyotomi.

-"Diavolos Avante's influence is especially strong in the western. They're barely starting to influence Japan and other countries around here"-

-"So we can rule out that Diavolos Avante is the one behind this. Now, I don't think he is a Future Foundation agent. The fact that a letter inviting him to the shelter was found shows he wasn't here since the beginning"- Hikasa contributed.

-"So…is he SHSL Despair?"- Yukio asked. The other two options had been ruled out, so the only one who was left was…

-"Monobear had clearly stated there was only one SHSL Despair in the shelter, and it was Reiji"- Akane reminded them.

-"He could have lied through Monobear"- Yamaguchi pointed –"It's possible, don't you think?"-

-"No, I'm not a SHSL Despair member. I was never in contact with Enoshima-san. I graduated long before she was admitted to Hope's Peak and I never returned there"- Matsukaze said. It was obvious the graduates didn't trust his words very much.

-"Well, what we can be sure is that **Diavolos Avante was involved in this game as scapegoats**. We were supposed to think they were the ones behind everything"- Yukio said and looked at Matsukaze, hoping for a confirmation. The Detective grinned and flashed a thumbs up.

-"Point for this guy! That's correct. Diavolos Avante was merely a convenient organization to blame for this.

_Wait, something doesn't make sense here…_

-"Isn't that strange?"- Akane mused –"Why to blame Diavolos Avante?"-

-"What do you mean?"- Veritas inquired.

-"I mean…wouldn't it make more sense to blame SHSL Despair for this game? They had done a mutual killing game twice…and this one was similar to those in many ways. Anybody would think they were behind this. Why would Matsukaze-kun go out of his way to steer the blame towards other people?"-

-"…that's a good point"- Toyotomi supported –"I can only suppose there was a concrete reason for that"-

-"But Matsukaze-kun supposedly isn't a SHSL Despair. And he isn't a Future Foundation member or Diavolos Avante member, either"- Hikasa said.

-"If we had an idea of where SHSL Despair is standing in this…"- Yukio sighed. Akane looked at him, an idea forming in her head.

-"Maybe we do, after all…there are a couple things that hint that SHSL Despair is very involved with this game. We could create theories around them"-

* * *

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

**The People Outside**

-"That's one. Here's the other"-

Missing Memories

Code of the Locked Section

Curtis' Annotations

Toyogushi's Photography (1)

Chiba's Strategies

List of Belongings

Future Foundation Envelopes

Letters from the Future Foundation

Hallway Museum

Face on the Wall

Monobear,exe

Hijacking Code

Memory Restoration Machine

Shady Flashdrives

Prosthetic Makeup

Letter in the Vent

The People Outside

Execution Rooms

Morgue

Sensors in the Walls

Chute on the Ceiling

Hope's Peak

Matsukaze's Notebook

Small Key

Hope's Peak's Files

IDs

The Missing Week

Diavolos Avante

Medium Session: Lines Received

Matsukaze's Notepad

Blackout

Kitchen Knife

Chiba's Confession

* * *

**Letter in the Vent**

* * *

-"Matsukaze-kun sent this letter to the people trying to get into the shelter. I doubt that he'd pass it without seeing who is out there, and guess what? They're rioters. People who support SHSL Despair"-

-"Rioters?!"- Yukio backed off, visibly afraid. Maybe at some point he had a bad experience with them.

-"Did you say they're rioters? That's..."- Veritas was interrupted by Hikasa.

-"Wait, so SHSL Despair were the ones trying to frame Diavolos Avante? And Matsukaze-kun was in contact with them?"-

-"He said he isn't a SHSL Despair"- Yukio reminded them, somewhat calmer now –"But that doesn't mean he isn't a...supporter of them"-

-"So he's on SHSL Despair's side, after all! He just isn't part of the group. Technically, he wouldn't count as SHSL Despair"- Yamaguchi said. Matsukaze didn't comment about that. He merely played with his hat, calmly listening to them.

-"No, wait a second! They're not rioters. They...I know they're not rioters"- Veritas finally managed to say"- When asked to say what he meant, Veritas breathed deeply and replied –"They're my crew. My crew is the ones trying to get in here"-

-"Your crew? You mean they're Diavolos Avante members? They had Monobear masks! And guns!"- Akane gestured like she had a large assault rifle in her hands.

-"They are my crew, I know it. But I have no idea why they're using masks…"- it sounded like Veritas was saying the truth.

-"Well, whatever. Matsukaze-kun had no way of knowing they weren't rioters. It's still possible that he is a supporter of SHSL Despair"-

-"But then if he knew...would that mean Diavolos Avante was against their own people?"- Toyotomi frowned.

-"That is possible, but I don't think so. I'll go ahead and claim that **SHSL Despair was not directly involved in the game itself, but Matsukaze has some sort of plan with people outside the shelter.** That may or may not be related to this game"- she looked at the Mastermind to get some sort of confirmation, but there was none.

-"...a plan? My people wouldn't betray each other like this..."- Veritas repeated over and over feverishly. The last forty minutes had taken a toll on him.

-"So, there are three things more...and I think they're related between each other. If we can answer one, we can answer the rest"- Yukio enumerated the last questions: why they had been chosen, why was the game happening and if everybody had been truthful about their identities. There was also the matter about the body used in the second murder –"What do you have about those, Ogata-san?"-

-"Hmmmm..."- Akane thought for a moment. The truth is that she felt there was something more she hadn't discovered yet, something she had missed. She didn't know exactly what, but felt like it was the last key to solve everything. –"Matsukaze-kun, can I request something?"-

-"Oh? What would it be?"-

-"Can we see some footage from the week we forgot? We could find a clue as for the reason this all happened"-

Matsukaze raised his eyebrows when he heard Akane's request. He seemed to think it for a moment, then shrugged. –"Sure. I was planning to show you lot parts of it. May as well do it now"- He took a small dispositive from his coat and clicked a button. The screen with the questions cleared itself and instead showed the conference room.

There was no way to know whose memories these were. Whoever it was, was sitting in the front row. The podium was directly in front of them, and Chiba was starting to speak. _–"Welcome everybody, thanks for being here. You all may be wondering why we're here"-_

Chiba started explaining that they had been summoned to form the Commitee for a Better Tomorrow, a subdivision of the Future Foundation. Its main task would be to keep control on the different groups that may threaten an orderly restoration of the world, while most of the Future Foundation dealt with SHSL Despair and the disaster it had created. Chiba remarked several times that they had been picked exactly because their talents and knowledge would be useful. She also revealed that their classmates were dead (most of them), and that the fact they were still alive showed they were resistant and clever enough to survive in such a horrible world.

Akane narrowed her eyes when whoever owned those memories turned to the left for a moment. She had seen somebody she didn't recognize, but before she could actually see that person, Chiba was once again back into focus. –"We have tried to do it alone, but it wasn't possible. So now I'll introduce you somebody you surely have heard about. Now Kaiji Kudo, formerly known as the SHSL Philanthropist will speak"- Chiba left the podium, bowing politely towards Kudo while he got there.

_-"Uh, hello everybody..."- he spoke nervously –"I am Kaiji Kudo and I am a...a very important member of an organization called Diavolos Avante"-_

Toyotomi's jaw dropped when he saw Kudo revealing openly his alignment. Kudo started talking about what was Diavolos Avante, what they did, and about the Main Board. He mentioned the codenames but not the real names, saying that 'it wasn't something they needed to know'. Veritas was watching silently, without commenting. Akane wondered what he could be thinking.

_-"We wanted power, and I admit we have done pretty questionable things. I see the error in some of my ways, and I'm sure that once I talk with Veritas...something can be arranged"-_

_-"You mean he doesn't know you're here? Won't that mark you as a traitor?"_ Ginchiyo had asked.

_-"...I feel nervous about that. I am and will always be part of Diavolos Avante and I don't mean to betray them. But...we're starting to derail. I feel that there's something strange going on behind scenes in the organization, in ways I can't understand. I suspect that Veritas made a big mistake recently, which I'll explain later. It may not be late to fix it, but we'll need the Future Foundation's help. That's why I'm here. We can help each other. Diavolos Avante helps the Future Foundation to reform the world in exchange of some power for our members. We'll give everything we have to reach a new world, too"-_

_-"How will Veritas react?"-_ Toyogushi had asked.

_-"...I'll be able to convince him that we need to change our direction quickly. He'll be wary at first, but I'll convince him it's for the better. We'll reach our objectives while causing less trouble for ourselves and everybody"-_

Akane really wondered what Veritas was thinking right now. At first glance some would say that Kudo was being a traitor. However there was something in his words and his expression that showed he wasn't intending to betray anyone. He honestly did want the best for his partners, and had judged allying with the Future Foundation would help. The memories stopped there.

-"And there you go. How good was that? Kudo-kun sure was an asshole, eh? Thinking about other people's wellbeing"- Matsukaze said smugly, looking at the screen. Much to his surprise, none of the graduates replied. They all were deep in thought. Clearly everybody had judged Kudo wrongly. Volkos was never their enemy. Matsukaze had turned him into one.

-"Veritas?"- Toyotomi asked gently. The bear slowly turned towards him –"Do you know what Kudo-kun was talking about? What mistake you did?"-

-"Hmmmmm..."- Monobear shifted uncomfortably. They heard how the man behind the bear took several deep breaths, getting ready to answer.

-"...it's possible I did go too far...trying to get power for me and my crew. I..."- after some prompting from Toyotomi, he finally said it –"I inserted a prototype of a Enoshima AI in three of the Main Board members' minds to break any hesitance or moral obstacle in them. I...wanted to make them ruthless, like Enoshima was"-

-"You did what?!"- Yukio screamed.

-"Enoshima AI? What the hell is that?"- Toyotomi inquired, sweating profusely. Just from the name anybody would know they weren't good news.

Veritas explained that all he knew was that it was some sort of AI with Enoshima's traits and love for despair. He remarked that it had been stolen from SHSL Despair by his hacker, somehow, and after studying it and concluding it wasn't going to overhaul people's personalities or anything like that, he used it on three Board Members.

-"So Volkos was affected with it too?"-

-"No. Volkos and I are the only ones to not to go through that procedure"-

-"So there are five Board Members instead of four..."-

-"Every time a Board Member dies, a new one must take their place as soon as possible. That's our rule"-

-"But how could you even think of doing something like that?! It was Enoshima's teachings injected directly into them! Who would think it was a good idea?!"- Yamaguchi screamed indignantly. Veritas replied coldly, clearly not liking somebody scolding him.

-"I studied all risks and benefits and concluded it was worth doing. Be silent from now on, ignorant outsider"-

Yamaguchi gritted her teeth, angry. Matsukaze had been watching, obviously enjoying their discussion. When it seemed like it wasn't going to continue, he started playing with the gun, aiming at the ceiling. –"So, was it useful for you, Ogata-san? I suppose you asked to see it for a reason"-

-"It was"- Akane replied, confidently –"I have solved one of the mysteries you set"-

Matsukaze glared before pointing the gun at her –"Okay, let's bet your life on that. What did you solve?"-

-"Th-The corpse you used"- the Chemist was nervous to see a gun aiming at her head, but managed to gather enough courage to reply.

-"Enlighten us"-

-"Rewind the memories and we'll see"- Matsukaze complied, until they got to the part where Akane had seen the stranger. –"There! Do any of you know who that person is?"-

-"I had never seen that man before"- Hikasa said –"But he looks similar to Matsukaze-kun in terms of body build"-

-"That's exactly what was needed, wasn't it?"- Akane was happy that somebody had realized quickly why she had focused on him –"All he'd need to do was kill him, store the corpse in the morgue and use it when it was time to fake his death. And there you have it, mystery solved!"-

Matsukaze chuckled and sheathed the gun again. –"You lucky gal. You'd have never guessed if I hadn't shown that"-

-"But is it correct?"- Yamaguchi urged for a confirmation.

-"It is correct. That man was the corpse you saw. Forget about him, because you won't know a thing about him. You don't even remember ever meeting him!"-

-"But it's strange..."- Yukio mused –"...would that mean there were originally seventeen people in this shelter?"-

_He's right about that. It would seem to indicate there were seventeen people...but there are only sixteen rooms in here. Unless there's a bedroom in the Locked Section..._

Akane asked Matsukaze if the room she hadn't been allowed in was a bedroom or something similar, and was told that it was actually the room to control Monobear and some things in the shelter. The Chemist nodded –"So...if there are only sixteen bedrooms, each for one person, then...there can't be seventeen people, right?"-

-"Then how could that be possible?"- Toyotomi stared at the screen, looking at the stranger –"Nothing seems like this shelter was meant to hold more than sixteen people"-

Seventeen people...sixteen people...fifteen people...come on, Akane, think. How many people were in the shelter when we got here?

* * *

_Fourteen people_

_Fifteen people_

_Sixteen people_

_Seventeen people_

* * *

**Sixteen people**

* * *

-"I think there were always sixteen people in here. The number of bedrooms pretty much proves it can't have been more. Yamaguchi-san, was any of the bedrooms large enough to have two people in it?"-

-"No, all of them were way too small for that"- she replied.

-"There you have it. There can have only been sixteen people"-

-"Then how could that man have been here and get killed without the number of graduates changing?"- Yukio wondered

-"Maybe he was only visiting?"- Veritas suggested –"That would explain that"-

-"Or maybe...he was one of the original sixteen, after all"- Toyotomi slowly said, looking at Veritas –"What if what happened is just like what happens to Diavolos Avante's main board? What if when one person dies...it gets replaced?"-

-"You mean that he got killed and somebody else was called to replace him?"- Akane inquired. It did make sense.

-"Yes. And I think I know who the replacement was. Are you thinking the same, Ogata-san?"

Akane thought for a moment, and got to a possible conclusion. –"I think I do know who the replacement…was"-

* * *

Akane Ogata

Chihiro Toriumi

Masashi Sakurai

Aya Sawashiro

Mika Yamaguchi

Reiji Ohmoto

Mishio Matsukaze

Saburou Hikasa

Kaiji Kudo

Ginchiyo

Masaru Miyata

Hoshio Saitou

Takeshi Toyogushi

Yukio Ohmoto

Masamune Toyotomi

Tomoe Chiba

* * *

**Masaru Miyata**

* * *

-"It was Miyata-kun, wasn't it?"-

-"Yeah, I think it was him!"- Toyotomi said enthusiastically –"All of our classmates are dead, and I think you'd have said something if you had recognized him, so it can't have been the other survivor of your class. It can only have been Miyata-kun!"-

-"It could have been somebody from any other generation-" Hikasa pointed. Toyotomi shrugged, but argued that he must be right.

Matsukaze smiled contently, but there was something in his smile that made Akane be wary. _Maybe Toyotomi-kun is correct, but there must be something about Miyata-kun that made him get in here…_

-"What if…Miyata-kun was chosen for another reason besides needing a replacement for that man?"- She slowly asked.

-"Like what reason?"-

-"Well…remember how we thought Miyata-kun had been called here by Kudo-kun to be his accomplice? Since Kudo-kun was innocent then there must have been a different reason. I think it's possible it was to…"-

* * *

_…be Matsukaze's accomplice_

_…attract Diavolos Avante's wrath towards Kudo_

_…serve as a spy for Diavolos Avante_

_…induct him into SHSL Despair_

* * *

**…attract Diavolos Avante's wrath towards Kudo**

* * *

-"…to make Diavolos Avante want revenge on Kudo-kun"-

-"Of course! Diavolos Avante hates betrayal. If they knew that Miyata-kun, one of their members, was in grave danger and it was Kudo-kun's fault then they'd try to have revenge!"- Yukio supported. Veritas scowled, although none of the graduates could see that. He felt like a complete fool for falling into that plan.

-"I think it's already clear that the Mastermind's objective was to kill Kudo-kun"- Hikasa said.

-"But then why were the rest of us in this? Why didn't Matsukaze-kun merely kill Kudo-kun at some point? Why to do this game?"- Toyotomi inquired. That was the core of everything. If they found out why Matsukaze had gone out of his way to start the mutual killing game then they'd be able to answer the last three questions. Matsukaze closed his eyes, taking off and on the safety of the gun.

_That must be something Matsukaze is hiding…the reason for the mutual killing game…I must think. Why would he want to kill all of us, apparently? Did he really want that? There must be evidence to answer it…_

* * *

**Logic Dive**

* * *

1: Was there a reason to kill the other fourteen graduates?

_There was_

_There wasn't_

* * *

**There was**

* * *

2: Is there something the graduates has that Matsukaze doesn't?

* * *

_An exposition in the Hallway Museum_

_A bedroom in the shelter_

_A file in Hope's Peak_

_His memories_

* * *

**A file in Hope's Peak**

* * *

3: If he didn't have a file in Hope's Peak, is there something he shouldn't have yet he does?

* * *

_A bedroom in the shelter_

_An exposition in the Hallway Museum_

_His memories_

_The Memory Restoration Machine_

* * *

**An exposition in the Hallway Museum**

* * *

4: What'd be the conclusion to those facts?

* * *

_He was in Hope's Peak in incognito_

_He never studied in Hope's Peak_

_Hope's Peak hid his existence_

_He destroyed his file in Hope's Peak_

* * *

**He never studied in Hope's Peak**

* * *

Akane got to a conclusion, and for a moment was mesmerized...that was fitting. If she was right, that was the solution to everything she hadn't answered yet. So she now just needed to prove it.

-"Matsukaze-kun, just a question...did you really study in Hope's Peak?"-

-"What do you mean, Ogata-san?"- Yukio asked

-"I mean that it's rather possible Matsukaze-kun wasn't ever a student of Hope's Peak. What if...the reason we're all trapped here besides Kudo-kun is because he wants to kill us for having something he didn't?"-

-"You're supposing too much"- Matsukaze said bluntly. His tone was much more serious than before. Clearly Akane was treading into dangerous terrain. –"I'm part of the 65th Class"-

-"No, I saw the file and there was no Matsukaze in the file. You weren't in any of the generations"- Toyotomi argued.

-"I was under an alias, that's all"-

-"An alias? Hah! Say the name, then. I have the files right here"- he showed the folders with the files from Hope's Peak. Matsukaze eyed them with distrust. If he dared to lie then it'd be debunked instantly. Finally he grunted, defeated.

-"How did you know, Ogata-san?"-

-"You weren't in the files yet there was an exhibition about you. I interpreted it as if you tried to make yourself look like you had been a student once. Since you had no access to the files, they were more reliable than the museum.

-"Wait, what was the museum again? I didn't pay much attention to it"- Yukio asked, and Akane quickly explained what its purpose was. She also talked about Matsukaze's exhibition.

-"If I remember correctly, it was a newspaper cutout about the Delacroix case. It sounds familiar, doesn't it?"- Yukio wasn't the only one who reacted. Veritas also gasped loudly, as if he had realized something, but he didn't say anything –"I have no reason to think the cutout was faked, so Matsukaze-kun was involved in it as the detective who gathered the evidence"-

-"But I don't remember him having to do anything with the case!"-

-"What do you remember?"-

-"Well, I remember that the accused was a woman by the name of Delacroix...and she killed somebody with a katana...and...I also remember a couple pieces of evidence..."- the more Yukio talked, the less sure he was. It was clear that he couldn't remember much. He grasped his head in confusion –"Come on, why can't I remember a thing? It was the case that let my enter Hope's Peak! Reiji and I won that case!"-

-"He took those memories from you as well, surely so you don't remember seeing him before"-

-"Just like Toyogushi-kun didn't remember ever being with Ginchiyo-san?"- Yamaguchi asked.

-"Exactly, but I think these memories are more important than Toyogushi-kun's. Am I right to suppose that the Delacroix case and your supposed status as Hope's Peak student are related in some way?"- Akane asked to Matsukaze. The Mastermind pulled the hat over his eyes, fuming. He hadn't wanted that to be revealed.

-"Impressive. I can see how you managed to get to this point. It really was a risk to stop the execution...but at the end it was the right move, since you helped to kill Kudo-kun"- after that, he stood up straight. –"Yes. I'm not a Hope's Peak graduate"-

-"Where did you study, then?"-

-"I now remember why he's so familiar. He was a student at my school"-

Veritas had been the one to say that. The graduates stared at him, surprised. His school? Matsukaze glared at Veritas. –"Yes, I am. I'm a graduate from Delacroix, School for the Gifted and the Talented"- his face contorted into a nasty expression –"That's a mouthful of a name. A terrible name"-

-"What's that school? And did you say 'Delacroix'?"- Yukio fidgeted with his suit.

-"It's a school for talented people, just like Hope's Peak. It's rather popular in Europe, as it originated in France. Around ten years ago they established a school here in Japan, as direct competition for Hope's Peak"-

-"But if you were so talented why didn't you study in Hope's Peak?" Yamaguchi asked. Matsukaze turned red, and started shouting.

-"Because I never received an invitation to study there! Do you know what Hope's Peak cares about? Success. Either that or money. The Delacroix case was my spotlight, my chance to enter Hope's Peak. But those two little brats..."- he pointed hatefully at Yukio –"...ruined it! They ruined my investigation, my chance! They got Delacroix found not guilty, and made all my work to be for naught!"-

-"I-I'm sorry that happened, but..."- Yukio tried to apologize, but Matsukaze walked quickly to Yukio's podium, took his gun and pointed it right to the Assistant's forehead. Yukio froze, raising his hands. Hikasa stepped forward to punch Matsukaze in the face, but the Mastermind pointed to the ceiling with a remote control in his hand. That was enough to make the Weightlifter back off. The weapons in the ceiling were still a real menace.

-"Shut up! Because of you and your brother, I never received the invitation. You pair of maggots triumphed and got lauded as amazing attorneys, and what happened to me? I got left behind in the oblivion. Nobody likes to remember the losers. Only some people remembered me, and only as the teenager who got in middle of a police investigation. Hope's Peak would never want me with them"

-"But he wanted you!"- Toyotomi said, referencing Veritas –"He admitted you into his school and all that"-

-"I invited you to my school. I gave you the recognition you deserved for bravely taking part in an investigation to lock my niece"- Veritas had grown frustrated too –"How can you be so ungrateful? My school is better than Hope's Peak! We don't experiment with the students; we don't cause trouble, we..."-

-"Shut the fuck up! You know nothing about how I feel!"- Matsukaze stopped, still red, but slowly calmed. After taking a few deep breaths, he put away the gun. Yukio sighed in relief while the Mastermind returned to his podium. –"At least something good came from all this. I learned that hope is poison. You know why I accepted your invitation, Delacroix-san? Because I was desperate"- Monobear flinched, and Matsukaze continued relentlessly –"I despaired. But that despair gave me the strength to continue with my life. My despair allowed me to take measures to pretend to be a Hope's Peak student. It wasn't hard. I was known as a brilliant detective. Of course Hope's Peak would play along; they craved to be recognized as a factory of the best people in their fields.

Despair was what created who I am. If I had been hopeful, expecting to receive an invitation for the rest of my high school days, I'd be much worse. But I realized in time that it was useless. Hope holds everyone back. Abandon hope and you'll get far away.

Despair allowed me to be superior to anybody. I achieved the title of 'greatest investigative mind of the century'. All because I rejected any of that hope crap and embraced despair and its influence. It gave me strength to pursuit my goals.

And now I'm superior. Superior to any Hope's Peak student. Look at yourselves; you didn't realize my goals until it was too late. Superior to Diavolos Avante. I managed to get information about them and use it for my beliefs' advantage. Superior to SHSL Despair. I don't get my jollies on despair, I'm more dangerous than them, because I want to spread despair and I'm perfectly sane"-

Hikasa snorted rudely but Matsukaze didn't pay attention to that. –"Congratulations, Ogata-san"- he said caustically –"You found out the one thing I didn't want any of you to know. You really are a worthy opponent. And just so you know, I'm not thirty years old. I'm twenty-five, and I'd have been part of the same generation than those two maggots"-

Akane took a deep breath. –"So this is it. There are all the answers needed...why were us sixteen chosen? **Besides Kudo-kun, who was the main objective, and Miyata-kun, who got called for a concrete reason...it's because we were here**. Am I right?"-

-"Yes. I merely took the chance to prove myself to be better than a bunch of Hope's Peak students. Getting away with the game of mutual killing would prove that without any doubt"-

-"Got it. So, why is the game happening? **Because the Mastermind wanted to kill Kudo and take onto the Hope's Peak graduates his frustration for not having reached what they reached** "-

-"...that's not how I said it..."- Matsukaze said through gritted teeth.

-"And last..."- Akane ignored him –"There's not much to add to 'is everybody who they say they are'. Just that **Matsukaze wasn't ever a Hope's Peak student**.

-"Ten questions answered? Finally?"- Toyotomi asked hopefully. Akane nodded.

-"And this time they're correct. I'm sure of it. It's time to end this game once and for all"-

-"It is. Get this over with, it's starting to be late"- Matsukaze took off his hat –"End this horrible tale now"-

* * *

**Climax Inference**

* * *

_This game started around two weeks ago. Chiba, Kudo and Toyotomi, Future Foundation agents, created a plan to restore the world for normal, but they'd need help. For that purpose they used the Hope's Peak files, calling the last survivors of several generations. At some point and for reasons we don't know, the Mastermind, despite not being a graduate, was summoned as well. Maybe it was because his fame as investigator._

_When we all got here to the shelter, Chiba explained us all the purpose of the reunion. Kudo also said that Diavolos Avante would help to ensure the world's return. The Mastermind saw that there wasn't much time left. I can only suppose he had some sort of deal with traitors in Diavolos Avante, as there's no other explanation for he wanting to kill Kudo. So he stepped into action._

_During the week the Mastermind got ready for the game. The execution machines, Monobear, the graduate's death and Miyata's summoning and several other details were done during the week. It's rather possible that through sheer convincing he managed to obtain the password to the Locked Section. Once everything was ready, he proceeded to kickstart the mutual killing game._

_He tampered with all of our memories, and modified Kudo's to make him think he was the Mastermind._

_We woke up and got received by Monobear and notified how everything would go. For the next few days, the Mastermind pretended to be working to get us all out of the shelter, but it was a plan to check there weren't any loose ends before jumping into the next part of the scheme._

_It was time to fake his death. For that he requested the signal interceptor from Chiba, and created a murder plan. He called Miyata and somehow knocked him out and got him into the Locked Section. He modified his memories to make him think he had killed the Mastermind and had to get rid of a notebook, then he put him into the place with the spare Monobears. When he awoke he ran away, falling into the Mastermind's plan. We all fell in it. We got distracted by a very convoluted plan, so convoluted we didn't fully realize how illogical and unrealistic it was._

_The Mastermind faked his death successfully. And until the final trial, he surely continued modifying Kudo's memories to fit his actions. I don't doubt that he modified Kudo's memories to make him think he had set my execution and that it had failed, by example. He also took care of a few details, such as putting the list of belongings and strategies in Chiba's room after her death._

_All in all, it was all a plan to get away with the mutual killing game, but specially, to kill Kudo without getting his own hands or his alignment's hands dirty._

_And the one to do all of this, the Mastermind of the mutual killing game...it's you! Mishio Matsukaze!_

* * *

Matsukaze stared at Akane before clapping slowly. Despite everything, the Chemist could swear she detected a condescending attitude from him. That annoyed her greatly, but also made her wary. If he still had time to look down on them, then it was possible there was something else he could do to ruin their days...even more. –"So, are we over?"- She asked.

-"It's over. There's nothing else to do in this trial"- he took out the same remote control he had used to point to the ceiling earlier –"You all should have stopped when Kudo died. Then you'd have died out of this room, but now I think it'll be better to kill you all right now and end this before anything else goes wrong"-

-"Wait, kill us now?"- Yukio paled –"Why? We should be allowed to..."-

-"I said I don't want anything else to go wrong. The guns in the ceiling will be enough, and if any of you survives them, then I'll merely shot you personally"- he took out his gun again, to show that he meant it.

-"But you'll be shot too! You'll die!"- Yamaguchi shouted. Matsukaze grinned.

-"I'll take my chances. Let's see how this goes, okay?"-

While Matsukaze was talking, Monobear had approached Akane. Speaking in a tone so low Akane hadn't ever imagined the bear was capable of, Veritas gave instructions.

-"Once you see the chance, I want you and the others to bolt out of here. I think I can open the door of this trial room. I'll contact my crew and get everything in order. We won't let this guy escape, but you five must get away of here!"- and without waiting for a reply, he stepped aside and shouted.

-"I can't let you do that! I'll stop you"-

Matsukaze laughed, clearly amused. Come on, what will you do? I'll be able to disable you once you get close. You won't lay not even a claw on me"-

Monobear ran towards Matsukaze, while the Mastermind sneered calmly. He pointed his gun towards the bear, ready to shoot it once it bared its claws.

What happened was something he hadn't expected at all.

The doors of the room opened with a loud sound, getting everybody's attention. That was all Monobear needed, as he jumped on Matsukaze. When he was about to land on the Detective and Matsukaze turned his head around, Monobear exploded.

For a moment Akane was disoriented. The last thing she had expected was an explosion, but soon she felt somebody shaking her arm. –"Let's run!"- Toyotomi shouted to her, snapping her out of her confusion. She nodded and followed him. Akane noticed that Matsukaze was stunned. Somehow, perhaps because of the distance at the moment of the explosion or because he was very lucky, he was almost unhurt. Yukio saw the gun that had fallen onto the floor and picked it up before following Akane through the trial room door.

-ooooo-

Veritas bolted from his seat once he activated the bomb in Monobear's chest. _A shame. I was getting attached to that bear._

The trial had been a rollercoaster of emotions for him. It had ranged from rage once Kudo had revealed himself as the Mastermind, although he had already suspected that, passing through satisfaction when he executed him and ending in sorrow and guilt when it was revealed Kudo was innocent. But now he only had one emotion: determination. He had to kill Matsukaze for all the trouble he had caused, but that wasn't the only thing he needed to do. He also needed to stop his team before they killed everybody in the shelter.

He felt like he owed those graduates at the very least their lives. They may be graduates from Hope's Peak, but they had revealed the truth behind the game, and had brought a very worrying possibility: that there were traitors in his organization. The chances of them being the three Board Members left alive was…horribly high.

He quickly tried to contact them, but neither of them answered the calls. The call did go through, he knew that. His anxiety over a possible betrayal was stronger now. _I need to get to the shelter now._

Veritas ran out of his school building and jumped into a van. Normally, the subway that led to the shelter was ten minutes away from the school. He'd get there in five. The tires screeched when the van surged forward, letting the leader of Diavolos Avante drive recklessly into the city.

-ooooo-

Valkyrie watched while the crew pushed against the piece of steel Vieiras had cut. With a resounding noise, the steel fell, revealing an entrance big enough for them to enter. Her cellphone ringed, she took it out of her pocket and smirked when she saw who was calling. –"Don't interrupt me right now, old man"- she mumbled before putting it back, ignoring it. Wolfenmaus' and Vieiras' cellphones ringed as well, but neither of them answered the call.

Once it was confirmed they could enter the shelter, Valkyrie gathered everybody. –"Okay, remember the orders, directly from our leader: we kill everybody we find in there. If you find Volkos, shoot him without mercy. Don't take your masks off unless any of us order it"- the truth is that neither of them had taken the masks off during the whole afternoon –"Does everybody have your guns? Then we're settled.

Let's do it"-

The crew slowly trickled through the hole, entering the shelter. Valkyrie reunited with Vieiras and Wolfenmaus. –"It's strange he called"- Wolfenmaus commented.

-"Certainly. Let's get this over with before anything happens"- and with that, she took her own rifle and entered the shelter. Their scheme was almost over. Once Kudo had died, it was only matter of getting Veritas out of the way, and then Diavolos Avante would be theirs to reform into a new direction. One where they could use what Veritas had built to do the opposite: instead of rebuilding the world to achieve positions of power, they'd achieve them by inflicting despair.

The old man would regret the moment he thought it was a good idea to use the Enoshima AI on them. Now he had three faithful followers of despair to deal with, three people with a small piece of Junko Enoshima in their minds.

**CHAPTER 6: The Angels, the Demons and the Humans**

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost over, guys.
> 
> Two chapters more for the epilogue, then three for extras and a few curiosities I want to tell you about the early stages of the story's creation, when it was merely an idea.
> 
> Oh, and also a summary of the next story. After all, this one was the beginning of a trilogy.
> 
> Thank you all for reading!


	45. Epilogue: A Black and White Future I

**Epilogue: A Black and White Future**

Akane ran, being pulled by Yukio. Once they got to the hall outside the trial room, they found the other three graduates reunited there. All of them had an expression of nervousness and anxiety in their faces. Matsukaze was pretty much set on killing them and they were sure that even without his gun he'd find a way. Not only that, there were Diavolos Avante members outside threatening to get in, and they doubted Veritas would order them to not to kill.

So it was pretty much a situation they couldn't sit down and hope for the best.

-"What do we do? We need to get out of here, and fast"- Hikasa mumbled, looking around as if he expected foes turning around the corner in any moment.

-"I knew we needed some sort of plan"- Yukio said, trying to brush off any anxiety the graduates had –"We must get to Hope's Peak's junk pit. I did something there that could come useful now. No time to explain here"-

-"How about returning to our rooms to gather what we may need? We could have something useful in there, I don't know, useful to fight or something"- Akane said, trying to think fast. The situation was already clouding her mind in nervousness.

-"That may be good"- Yamaguchi said –"Toyotomi-kun, go with him. The Workshop should have weapons. Let's take a look"- Everybody accepted her proposal. Toyotomi and Akane ran to the first section, while the other three left towards the third section. The Chemist hoped that the door to the shelter would resist enough time for them to at least try to escape.

Unfortunately, when she turned the corner, she stumbled, almost falling. There were around a dozen people with Monobear masks kicking the doors to the bedrooms and using rifles to break them down. She saw how the doors were destroyed, forming an entrance for them to enter. Akane felt something pull her from behind, and Toyotomi covered her mouth. –"Did they see you?"- he whispered while slowly walking backwards. Akane had no idea, but since nobody came to kill them she supposed she hadn't been seen. Still, going back to the bedrooms wasn't an option anymore.

Akane and Toyotomi turned back as quietly as they could to the place they had come from, and looked for the rest. They reached them near the Hallway Museum. Hikasa and Yamaguchi had taken a saw and the knife from the toolset, respectively, and both seemed unsure on how to grasp them. –"We need to go away now. The nutcases managed to break in. Where's Matsukaze?"-

-"We haven't seen him"- Yamaguchi replied without stopping running. She was struggling to talk and run at the same time –"I think he may have recovered already. Didn't you see him while you ran here?"-

 _We didn't...where did he go to?_ A sudden noise behind them made her turn around. Matsukaze had appeared on the entrance of the Hallway Museum. His expression was positively murderous, but he didn't seem to have any weapons with him. Despite having a gun and some other weapons, the graduates didn't stop to fight. They knew they didn't have time for that. Besides, Yukio was way too ahead and the graduates were between him and Matsukaze. Shooting would risk hurting a graduate.

Hikasa threw around some of the exhibitions, hoping to make an obstacle for any pursuers. Unfortunately, the only thing that worked was the statue Saitou supposedly sold. He managed to push it until it blocked the hallway, ending in a diagonal position. Any pursuer would have to take some time to maneuver under it; Matsukaze struggled to crawl under the space under the statue. It got them enough time for them to reach the trash pit, so Yukio got in the lead and everybody followed him around.

There had been no noticeable changes in that place. –"Why are we here?"- Toyotomi asked to Yukio –"You brought us here, there better be a good reason"-

-"I don't want to die in a dumpster"- Yamaguchi commented, eyeing suspiciously the piles of junk around.

Yukio didn't answer any of their questions. Instead, he cheered when he saw the ladder on the wall, behind the opened door. Once she got closer, Akane saw near the ladder the two harnesses. There were eight Monobears with them, inactive and laying limply on the ground. –"What's up with that?"-

-"Can't any of you shut up for a moment?"- Yukio said, stressed –"We need two of us to put on those and safely tuck Monobears between the harness and the body. We're going to carry them up there"-

-"What's up there?"- Yamaguchi couldn't avoid asking, but didn't go further after Yukio glared at her. Hikasa volunteered, and he quickly put the harness, managing to secure four Monobears with Yukio's help. –"I'll do it too"- Akane was the second volunteer. _On second thought_ , _I don't feel comfortable with this_ she thought. She had practically turned into a walking bomb. If any of the Monobears exploded, there was no way she'd live. However it was too late to consider passing the burden to somebody else.

The graduates formed a row in front of the ladder and started ascending. Hikasa was on the lead, followed by Toyotomi, Yukio, Yamaguchi and finally Akane at the end, in that order. –"How long is this thing? Where are we going?"-

-"We're going into Hope's Peak right now"- Yukio answered quickly. Maybe he was somewhat less stressed now that they were going upwards.

-"What did you say?"- Yamaguchi asked, unsure if she had heard correctly. Yukio didn't repeat what he had said, instead they continued ascending.

Their feet stepped on the rods that formed the metallic ladder, making a curious tinkling noise every time they made contact. The pace was steady yet somewhat relaxed, maybe because they were starting to make progress in their attempt to get out of the shelter. However the peaceful atmosphere was soon interrupted when from deep below them, sudden sounds filled the air. It was like somebody was climbing the ladder very quickly. Akane got pale, knowing that it was very likely it was Matsukaze. –"Go upwards, quick!"- She shouted to the others. They didn't need her to say it twice; they were already climbing as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, they had picked up the pace too late. A hand grabbed Akane's foot, brutally pulling it far from the steps. The sudden movement knocked Akane off balance; making her other foot lose the ladder. She shrieked in fear and surprise. She was now hanging from her hands, and she could see Matsukaze pulling from her foot with all his strength. Grinning maliciously, he kept doing that. Akane couldn't do anything else other than try to kick his hand with the other foot and hang on for dear life.

-"Ogata-san! Resist!"- She heard Toyotomi shout from upwards. She gritted her teeth. Her heel found Matsukaze's face; she stomped on it as much as she could. The Detective positioned his head so she was kicking his scalp, but despite the attacks he ascended a bit more and grabbed the knee, to continue pulling. The new position was more effective, and Akane's fingers started slipping. It was only matter of time before he made Akane slip and fall towards what seemed like a very likely death.

Above her, Yamaguchi descended, shaking visibly. She looked at Matsukaze for a moment. The Detective didn't notice her presence, focused on protecting his face and trying to make Akane fall. Yamaguchi pleaded with her eyes to Akane to not to make any noise for what she was going to do. Yamaguchi held on the ladder with one hand, and extended the other one. The Chemist could see something glinting on the scarce light: a gun. Yukio must have given her the gun.

Yamaguchi aimed quickly and shot. Akane almost jumped in surprise at the loud noise, but held onto the ladder. The bullet impacted Matsukaze's arm, making him groan in surprise and pain and alerting the Detective about what was going on. Matsukaze looked up, his face contorted in a furious gesture. Yamaguchi flinched for a moment, the hate in that expression was staggering, but she recovered and aimed again. –"Do you really have the guts to shoot?"- He asked, but a kick to the teeth from Akane shut him up.

-"Do it, Yamaguchi-san!"- Yukio shouted from above. Yamaguchi gulped, aimed and shot. This time she impacted on Matsukaze's shoulder. The Detective started breathing harshly, blood sprouting from his mouth, arm and shoulder. Akane looked away, but after one third shot, she felt that the hand that was gripping her knee was gone. Once she dared to look down, she saw that Matsukaze was gone. Something crashed down on a pile of trash, causing a lot of noise, but she had no idea how high they were. Could Matsukaze be dead?

-"Don't just stand there, keep going!"- Toyotomi urged. Akane and Yamaguchi obeyed, trying to keep their minds focused on only ascending.

Akane had no idea how long they had been climbing, but soon they reached Hope's Peak's trash room. The incinerator was the clear giveaway, and the three graduates that hadn't been there recognized the place. –"Wow...I can't believe I'd return this place after..."- Hikasa said quietly.

-"None of us did. Now let's do this..."- Akane and Hikasa took off the harnesses, and Yukio gathered the Monobears, putting them all on the corner where the wall and the shutter jointed. Once he was satisfied, he nodded and turned to Yamaguchi. –"Please pass me the gun"- Once he had it in his hands, he examined the chamber. –"Three bullets left. Should be more than enough. Who here has good aim?"-

-"I do"- Toyotomi replied. Yukio passed him the gun. –"It'll be risky, but you need to shoot the Monobears. If we do this correctly, they should explode and destroy the shutter or the wall enough for us to get out of this room"-

-"But what if the main entrance of Hope's Peak is closed? It had that huge-ass vault door, just like the shelter"- Akane said. Yukio sighed.

-"We'll see when we get there. So, Toyotomi-kun, will you do this?"- The makeup artist nodded and asked for more instructions. Yukio made everybody return to the ladder, Toyotomi this time being in the lead.

-"The four of us will descend until we're more or less safe. Toyotomi-kun, shoot and try to descend a little so you don't get hurt"- It all sounded very dangerous for Toyotomi, and the truth is that the agent's furrowed brow showed great worry, but he insisted he was going to do it.

The four graduates descended the ladder until the faint light from the incinerator room was a small square in the distance. They judged they were deep enough to not to be shaken by the explosion. Toyotomi took a deep breath and positioned himself. He had his hand and the top of his head over the threshold, aiming to the pile of Monobears. Once he had the gun in position, he lowered his head. He hoped he was protected enough to not to be killed by the explosion, but that didn't change the fact he was very nervous.

He gritted his teeth and fired. Nothing happened, so he tentatively looked at the pile. From below, the other graduates who had braced instinctively for the explosion wondered what had happened. –"Did you miss? I thought you had said you had good aim"- Hikasa called.

-"I hit the bears, but the bullet must have missed a bomb. I'll try again. Two bullets left"- he aimed again, and after a quick prayer, he fired.

The explosion happened almost instantly. Toyotomi barely had time to move before the bombs exploded. The agent instinctively held onto the ladder with both hands, without realizing one of them was badly burnt. He felt like his scalp was on fire, his ears were ringing. He had no idea how long the explosion lasted, but he felt dizzy. If he risked staying hanging onto the ladder for much longer, he could fall down. He slowly got back into the incinerator room, and let himself fall onto the ground.

The other graduates had held strongly as well. Although the explosion was high over their heads, and they were out of danger, their nervousness made it feel to them like they were up there with Toyotomi. Once the noise stopped, they ascended, and observed what the bombs had done.

Part of the wall had been destroyed, and there was a hole in the shutter, barely big enough for one of them to pass through. –"Give me a hand here"- Hikasa said to Yukio and Yamaguchi, walking to the hole on the shutter. They started twisting the bars in an effort to make the hole bigger. Akane stayed with Toyotomi. The man's hand was burned and blistered, and he was clearly shocked because of the ordeal. –"Are you alright, Toyotomi-kun?"-

She discovered that he had hearing damage, and hoped it was temporal. –"Yeah, I am. That was wild..."- he said faintly once he managed to hear what she had said.

The three graduates to make the hole bigger. Hikasa passed through it without much trouble, and if he was capable of going through it, the rest would as well. Hikasa helped Yamaguchi pass, while Yukio and Toyotomi helped the agent stand up and walk to the hole. –"Give me a minute"- Yukio said, and passed through the hole. Between the both of them, they helped Toyotomi pass with a minimal amount of wounds. After all, the steel bars that were obliterated were pointy and sharp. Akane was the last to cross the threshold.

The five survivors walked through the halls of Hope's Peak. They remembered where the entrance was, but they felt nostalgic walking through the halls. They had been accepted to that school, their talents and efforts had been recognized. That school had been a significant part of the lives and had opened them a lot of doors to the world. It was no wonder Matsukaze had wanted to be part of it, and was so outraged when he didn't receive the invitation.

-"This place sure has changed"- Akane mused, peering into a classroom. She eyed the thick steel plates on the windows, and the camera –"This is more like a fortress than a school now"-

-"It didn't do those kids much good"- Yamaguchi said bitterly, looking with inexpressive eyes at the scribbles on the blackboard –"Come on, let's get out of here"-

Nothing guaranteed that the survivors of the 78th Class of Hope's Peak had left the door open when they got out of the school. They hoped they did, as none of them had any idea how they'd open the big vault door if they found it closed. The relief they felt when they arrived to the entrance lobby and saw it open was overwhelming. Framed by the round hole, they could see the outside.

Dazed, the graduates exited the school. After a nightmarish week, they were finally outside again. Back into the horrible world they had come from, the world they had wanted to change. They had entered the shelter by their own will in order to change the world, and after the mission went horribly wrong, they had managed to fight and win. They were finally back outside.

The sun was setting down in the horizon. Akane looked at it, amazed. She had thought several times that she wouldn't see the sun ever again. The pain and grief for the deaths, the fear and the bad moments they had in the shelter finally overwhelmed Akane. The Chemist, one of the two survivors of the 74th Class of Hope's Peak, kneeled onto the ground and cried.

-ooooo-

Deep into Hope's Peak's trash pit, Matsukaze crawled on the floor. He had fallen onto a pile of trash, and while he had broken a leg, had bullets in his shoulder, arm and chest and was overall badly beaten and hurt, he was still alive. He chalked it up to his own determination. He looked pitifully at the sticking bones of his leg, and bit his lips to try to endure the pain. A noise got his attention, and he turned to the entrance of the pit.

Four people had appeared, backed by a small army of people with Monobear masks. Matuksaze smiled sardonically when he saw who was in front. –"Nice to see you again, old man"-

Veritas looked at him coldly. The redhead, walked to him. The Detective looked at the floor, taking deep breaths. Now that he had been found by what he considered foes, he was as sure as dead. Veritas looked at him with barely concealed rage, and saw something that had fallen near a ladder on the wall. It was a gun. He picked it up and examined it. That gun was the final confirmation he needed about the Board Members' betrayal.

The gun model was western, and he himself had brought only a handful and given them to his most trusted people. It was pretty much impossible for the Detective to have obtained one, except if it was given to him directly by the Board Members. Veritas looked for a moment at Valkyrie and Vieiras, wondering which one had given that gun to the Detective. He put those worrisome thoughts aside and focused on the crumpled man on the floor.

-"Lift him"- he ordered to two of the crew. They took off their masks and went ahead, lifting Matsukaze from the ground. The Detective allowed them, although they cringed and cried in pain when his weight rested on his broken leg. –"You have done unforgivable things"- Veritas said bluntly.

-"You'll kill me, won't you?"-

-"Definitely"- Veritas put the cannon of the gun directly on Matsukaze's forehead. The Detective, knowing his death was going to happen in matter of seconds, blurted out his final words.

-"Thanks to you, SHSL Despair will reinforce his reign over the world. Thank you for the help, moron!"-

Veritas shot the final bullet of the gun. The two Diavolos Avante members who had lifted Matsukaze left him fall. The Detective was finally dead.

The leader of the organization walked out of the room, ordering them to leave that corpse to rot. The four Board Members left the shelter. Veritas didn't dare to look at them. He was already thinking of ways of getting them away of him, far away. Maybe even demoting them, or outright killing them if necessary. But they were outstanding members, killing them would be his last resort.

The four left the rest of the crew to their devices, and entered the van Veritas had come in. The leader drove through the streets. For a moment nobody talked, until finally he said something. –"Report time. How is the situation?"-

-"We have restored peace and secured positions of power in Portugal and Spain"- Vieiras informed –"Any remains of despair or rioters has been neutralized"-

-"We're starting to move into Belgium, the Netherlands and Novoselic. We expect to settle a group for each of those countries in the next two weeks"- Valkyrie complemented. Wolfenmaus stayed silent. He was way too recent of a Main Board member to give a report.

-"I see. Not bad. What about other factions similar to us?"- Veritas queried.

-"They have been assimilated. Threats and offers were issued, and most of the leaders and members of those factions has accepted to join. The few that didn't has been promptly eliminated"- Valkyrie replied.

-"Good, good. That's nice"- Veritas made his next move –"So, we'll do a change of plans. Valkyrie, you'll go to the Netherlands and watch over the members who will establish a branch there. Be their leader, and don't forget to keep tabs on the countries you're in charge of. Vieiras, good job with Portugal and Spain. You'll finish the job in France and Germany"-

-"So..."-

-"So I'm saying you three will go away of here, in order to see everything goes smoothly. None of you should return until the end of the year, unless I call for a very important meeting here. Wolfenmaus will take you all to those places. Wolfenmaus, stay with Vieiras and see how he works"-

-"Yes, sir"- the stronger man nodded.

Veritas relaxed a bit. He thought he had dealt with it well enough. Maybe none of them suspected he was pushing them away. Once they were far away, he'd think of a way to fix the problem.

-"Sir, we'll need to replace Volkos, won't we?"- Vieiras asked. Valkyrie waited for the answer expectantly. Veritas calmed himself down before answering.

-"We do. Leave that matter in my hands. I'll do it"-

-"And how will you do that?"- Wolfenmaus asked.

-"I have my ways. I'll pick the best person to be the new Main Board member. You three focus on your missions. Everything will be fine on my end"-

Once again silence fell onto the van. Veritas glanced at his partners, trying to guess what was in their minds. He supposed they were plotting his demise. And he was right.

Veritas had his days numbered now.


	46. Chapter 46

_ One Week Later _

Akane peered around the corner before daring to walk further in the street.

In those days, being careless had a lot of chances of leading to your death. She had been careless once recently, although it wasn't exactly her fault. It wasn't like the meeting in the subway was a trap, after all. It was a genuine attempt to form a Future Foundation branch; in fact, anybody would think that it was more the Future Foundation's fault for inviting Matsukaze in the first place. But that didn't stop her from being more paranoid when outside her apartment.

After they had exited Hope's Peak, they wandered as a group, led by Toyotomi. He led them to a building where they found some of the agent's comrades; those people were assigned as their escorts to each of their homes. Akane felt somewhat strange bidding farewell to the people she had spent time with in the shelter, but it wasn't like they'd all stay forever. Yukio also had made her promise they'd meet again at some point, and although she had told him such promise was cliché and sappy, not to mention awkward, she accepted.

She spent the first four days in her apartment, mostly living with the help of other residents in the building. She hadn't told anybody about the events of the shelter, but they all accepted her explanation about not being in conditions to go outside for long. They were kind enough to give her some provisions for those days. Akane spent those days mostly on her mattress, sleeping and thinking.

Being in that shelter and in that mutual killing game had taught her many things, the least being her newly found detective abilities. One thing she also had learned was to not to merely hope for the best situation available, she also had to work for it. At times Akane wondered what would have happened if they had given up in the several occasions it was a strong possibility. She'd be dead, most likely. But also, as much as she hated to admit it, Matsukaze was right to that extent. Hoping was not enough. And she wasn't going to indulge into despair, either, to reach her goals.

And her goal right now was to survive and somehow help to turn the world right once again.

But what can a simple Chemist do? The only thing she knew was that she wasn't going to sit around to wait for it to happen.

Toyotomi visited her in the fifth day. He brought cans of soda and chips, and had his hand bandaged. His hearing had gotten slightly better, but Akane still had to talk a little louder than normal.

-"I'm serious, Ogata-san. We can offer you protection and you'll be able to have an active part in the reconstruction of the world"-

-"Are you sure I'm qualified for it?"- She asked, hesitant.

-"You're not exactly top-tier material, but I'm sure you can help a lot. In the shelter you showed a lot of qualities we want in our agents. This could be your chance to have a better life someday. Come on, Ogata-san"- Toyotomi said, dropping his official tone –"We need you! You're the last one I need to ask. The other three accepted already"-

-"They did?"-

-"Hikasa-kun almost rejected the offer. He had formed a barricade, somehow, and it took me a good twenty minutes to convince him to let me in. But really, please, join us"-

-"What did the Future Foundation say after you returned?"- Akane continued dodging the topic. Toyotomi scoffed.

-"They definitely weren't happy to hear about the loss of the shelter and the deaths of two important agents. I was also demoted"- his tone showed that he didn't want to talk more about that –"Ogata-san, I need an answer. Please give me an answer"-

Akane breathed slowly –"I can't answer right now. I need some time to think"- It was curious how human nature could work at times. When she was alone she had hoped she could help change the world. But now she had the chance to help and she was hesitating. –"Please, give me a couple days"-

Toyotomi accepted, after seeing he wouldn't do any progress convincing Akane. After wishing her to have peace of mind no matter what decision she took, he left him a map to go to where he'd be waiting during the next few days, and left. Once Akane was alone, she continued looking at the ceiling, doing nothing.

Two days later she finally had made her decision. She'd join the Future Foundation.

Going outside was difficult for her. She was expecting to see rioters everywhere, people who had heard about Matsukaze's death and were going to avenge him. That was ridiculous and she knew it. Matsukaze never had the influence Enoshima had. In fact, he wasn't even SHSL Despair. He was merely a supporter, it could be said he was merely a rioter more, and the only reason he was able to do the mutual killing game was because of those traitors in Diavolos Avante.

But no matter how many times she had told herself that, she continued looking over her shoulder all the way to the place where Toyotomi was waiting.

Finally she saw the tiny building in the distance. It was more of a warehouse than headquarters, perfect for not attracting unnecessary attention. Akane got to the door, and knocked on it. After a few seconds, it opened narrowly, and a cautious eye peeked through it.

-"Hello, I'm looking for Masamune Toyotomi. I have decided to accept his offer"-

-ooooo-

Veritas was blindfolded.

He had no idea where he was, but he was sure that he hadn't left the headquarters. He'd have known. But then...where in the school was he locked in?

Three days before somebody had come to his office, and managed to knock him out. The old man felt moronic for letting it happen, but scolding himself wouldn't help. He strolled around the room, trying to find out where he was, and trying to untie his hands.

During those days somebody had come every time and left food for him, without saying a word, so he had no idea who it was. However that day was different. Veritas heard somebody coming, so he braced, ready to run towards the place where he thought the door was. When the heavy door creaked, he ran towards the source of the sound. He was punched in the gut, and fell, gasping for breath. For the first time, the person who had imprisoned him talked.

-"Stop that"- Veritas recognized the voice. It was Vieiras.

-"When did you return?"- Veritas remembered very well when Vieiras left to Portugal. He wasn't supposed to return for weeks! There had to be only one reason for his presence: the traitors had finally decided to attack him. The leader tried to calm down and try to figure out what Vieiras was going to do. Unfortunately for him, Vieiras wasn't an idiot. The captor stealthily closed the door, walked around the boiler room where he had imprisoned Veritas, and grabbed a single object he had put there at some point: one single Monobear.

It was the very same Monobear Valkyrie had found in the trial room in Hope's Peak. They had taken it and studied its mechanisms, until they were capable of replicating it. Copying the programming in it was easy, and the information stored in its memory showed them all the little tricks and methods Enoshima had used in her School Life of Mutual Killing. That's how they, between Valkyrie and Vieiras, had given Matsukaze everything he needed to start the mutual killing game in the shelter.

Vieiras exited the boiler room even before Veritas could do anything to stop him. When the leader noticed that he was in his way out, it was already too late. Veritas crashed against the heavy door when he tried to make a desperate run.

Vieiras, carrying the Monobear, entered the Main Board room in the fifth floor of the headquarters. Valkyrie and Wolfenmaus were sitting in chairs, peering at some documents. –"Any progress?"-

-"None. We have no idea which minion is responsible for this mess"- Wolfenmaus threw at his partner some documents. They were blueprints for what seemed to be a robot. Vieiras studied the blueprints.

-"It looks like a little girl"- he commented.

-"It IS a robot of a little girl. That's unexpected. I think that there's somebody in our troops whose trying to imitate what we did"-

-"You mean that somebody is trying to make a mutual killing game here? In our headquarters?"- Vieiras couldn't believe it. That was ludicrous!"-

-"It doesn't seem to be a mutual killing game. There's some other objective here...what I was talking about was that somebody is trying to betray Diavolos Avante from the inside too. Take a look at what our spy brought us"- Valkyrie passed Vieiras a letter. It had the same curious motif the girl in the blueprints had. Vieiras read it with great interest, and smiled.

-"Cute. Well, if somebody wants to do this, then why don't we use it for our advantage? I mean, this person already did half of our job. These people invited are none other than the very same people we were going to summon in the first place for the contest"-

-"Did you see the date and time?"- Wolfenmaus asked –"It's today. And it's in a few minutes. Our spy passed us the information way too late. We won't be able to stop this before it starts"-

-"If we can manipulate this person's game so it goes like we want it to go, we'll get the new members for the Main Board. Two highly capable agents who'll receive the Enoshima AI and help corrupt once and for all this organization. So, it's decided"- Valkyrie looked out of the window.

Fifteen people were entering the school/headquarters of Diavolos Avante. Fifteen specialized agents had been summoned to Delacroix, School for the Gifted and the Talented, in order to take part of a process that'd end with one of them being selected to be part of the Main Board. That was what the letters they received had said.

-"Let's do it"- Valkyrie said softly, taking the Monobear and opening its head.

**Epilogue: A Black and White Future**

**END**

**Story 1: The Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing**

**END**

**Story 2: The Diabolical Contest of Mutual Killing**

**START**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, the first part of this long tale has ended. After almost exactly ten months of writing, The Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing is finished.
> 
> However it's not over yet. There are three more chapters, extra chapters. They're as follows:
> 
> 1: Unused Executions
> 
> 2: Unused Free Time Events
> 
> 3: Author's comments / Summary of The Diabolical Contest of Mutual Killing


	47. Extras: Unused Executions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here begin the extras.
> 
> I had written the executions before the story, so that's why there are unused executions. After all, you could imagine there are thousands of alternate universes where the mutual killing game went differently. Curiously, even if there are thousands of scenarios, there are only four different Mastermind possibilities, including Matsukaze.
> 
> Matsukaze is the only one who never had an execution written. In all scenarios, he was never the culprit of a crime. He was either the Mastermind, or a victim.
> 
> So, here are the executions.

* * *

** Hoshio Saitou, ex-SHSL Salesman  **

**Auctioned**

When Saitou woke up, the first thing he realized was that he was tied to a chair, bolted onto the floor. The second thing he realized was that he was on a stage. A quick examination of his surroundings revealed he was in some sort of conference room, and that in the chars, there were Monobears. Lots and lots of them.

A sudden noise got Saitou's attention. The Salesman turned his head to the right, and saw a podium. Monobear, with a suit, had banged a gavel on the podium. A banner appeared behind him. "Who wants to be the one to kill this man?" That's what the banner said. When Saitou read those words, he started struggling as hard as he could against the ropes, but he didn't do any progress.

Monobear banged the gavel again and the auction started. In a manner that was unexpectedly orderly for the bears, they made their offers. Each time one of the Monobears stood up, it showed a weapon or object to be used. Chainsaws, pickaxes, rocks, a strange rifle and even their claws where just a few of the diverse weapons proposed. No words were said, it was like the bears could communicate without needing to say anything. Each time a proposal was made, the Monobear auctioneer seemed to consider the offer, before rejecting them. Each time one was proposed, Saitou's nervousness grew, but he got calmer when it was rejected. All the different weapons they intended to kill him with gave him horrible mental images.

Finally one last Monobear stood up, holding a tiny fishbowl with some water. The auctioneer considered the offer, and much to Saitou's shock and amusement, he accepted it. The Salesman was baffled. How was such a tiny fishbowl going to kill him? Were they going to shatter it and use the glass to cut his neck or something?

The Monobear who won the auction approached Saitou, looking at him maliciously, holding the fishbowl. When he got close enough, he stopped for a moment, and then threw the water in the fishbowl onto Saitou's face. The cold splash got Saitou off-guard, and while he tried to get the water off his eyes the best he could without using his hands, he didn't notice the winning Monobear approached a lever he had failed to notice. The lever was pulled, the bolts securing the chair onto the floor disappeared, and a trapdoor opened under him.

Saitou started falling, still tied to the chair. He turned around in the air, noticing that he was falling in a deep hole. He also realized there was something in the bottom of the pit: water. The pit had water, and it didn't take long before he broke the surface and sank.

It was more than enough for him to drown. There were several meters of water between him and the surface, and since he was tied to the chair, there was no hope for him. That didn't stop him from trying to untie himself, but it was futile. In matter of minutes he felt the horrible pain in his chest, and saw lights before the blackness filled his eyes.

** Masashi Sakurai, ex-SHSL Good Luck **

**Completely Featureless**

Sakurai was brought into a completely white and featureless room. It was tiny, barely five meters wide, and there was nothing besides a few holes on the walls, near the floor. Sakurai curiously examined the holes, trying to find their purpose.

Suddenly a hissing noise emerged from the holes. It sounded like air rushing, but when he put his hand near the hole he couldn't feel air emerging from it. The rest of the holes weren't expulsing air either. Then what was that sound?

The noise hadn't stopped when he started having trouble breathing. Then he realized that the room wasn't filling with anything.

The holes had actually sucked out the air of the room.

Sakurai started breathing deeply, in an effort to try to keep himself from getting dizzy or passing out, but after a few seconds the noise stopped. All the air had finally been sucked from the room.

The change of pressure slowly gave him some really strange and painful sensations. It was as if every inch of his body was struggling to get out of his skin. He felt like his eyes were going to pop out, so he closed his eyelids and pressed his hands against his eyes, gasping for breath. He had no energy to look for a way out, there was nothing he could do other than writhe in agony on the ground.

The torture lasted for a minute before he finally died from suffocation. Once he fell down, dead, the air quickly was injected back into their room before Sakurai's corpse could be desecrated any further.

** Reiji Ohmoto, ex-SHSL Law Master **

**Brotherly Bond**

Reiji was grinning while Monobear secured him onto the pillory. The Law Master looked around the execution room. It had been modeled like a courtroom. Monobear was on the judge's seat, high above the rest. Reiji was where the defendant would sit, while Yukio was in the prosecutor's place. The defendant's seat wasn't a seat, it was the pillory, and above it there was a guillotine. The blade of the guillotine was hanging over his head, but Monobear wasn't going to be the one to let it fall. Yukio was going to do it.

Or at least that was the plan. Yukio didn't show any signs of wanting to do it. The Assistant looked dumbfounded at the rope in his hands, muttering 'No, I won't do this'.

Monobear pointed at Yukio with the gavel, warning him and telling him to do it. Yukio shook his head, backing off and leaving the rope on the desk. It was clear that Yukio wouldn't kill his brother, even after the SHSL Despair had been found guilty of the murder. It was noble, in a way, to refuse to do it, but Monobear wasn't going to accept it.

Instead, the bear simply banged his gavel once. The floor under Yukio opened, revealing a shallow pit of spikes. Yukio fell onto them, getting pierced and dying instantly. Reiji watched his brother fall and die. Well, he couldn't see much, but he knew what had happened. He stared at the place where Yukio had been, with a blank expression. Some would even think he was somewhat forlorn for his brother's death, but nobody would ever know. Monobear walked to the rope Yukio had left, and pulled it, releasing the blade and severing Reiji's head. Both twins had died instead of one, as it was originally planned, but it wasn't like the Mastermind cared about that.

** Tomoe Chiba, ex-SHSL Strategist **

**Life is a Battlefield**

Chiba examined the strange grid on the floor. It was painted black and white, just like a chessboard. She smiled nervously. She was pretty good in chess, but she doubted that was how the execution would go. In front of her she could see four turrets, spaced in different squares on the second row. Behind her was a wall. On the other side of the board, she could see sixteen Monobears with machine guns.

The game started. Some of the Monobears stepped forward to the next space, and then it was Chiba's turn. She walked to one of the turrets and aimed to the bears. It shot just a few bullets, but they were enough to kill the nearest Monobear.

Chiba found out that each turret had some sort of quirk that made it hard to decide which one to use and where to aim it, but her abilities as a strategist allowed her to plan quickly. That, combined with her speed running to even the turret on the other side, allowed her to get rid of all the Monobears before they could get past the sixth row.

The Stragist smiled, and wiped the sweat in her forehead, but a sudden noise behind her made her turn around. A door that was identical to the wall had opened, letting six Monobears with machine guns in. Chiba quickly turned back towards the turrets, but the Monobears were way too close. One of them shot his gun, hitting Chiba on her back and making her fall onto the floor. She couldn't move, the bullets had left her paralyzed and in pain. The Monobears approached, with their guns ready, and once they surrounded her they aimed and shot. Chiba died quickly, and soon the Monobears left the same way they had gone in.

** Saburou Hikasa, ex-SHSL Weightlifter **

**Powerless**

Hikasa noticed he was chained horizontally to a surface made of concrete. He couldn't move his legs, arms or body; the only part he could move was his head. Struggling to lift it, he saw that his arms were extended to the sides. Monobear was outside the room, he could see him through a pane of glass. Maneuvering what seemed like a crane, Monobear brought two heavy weights, linked together by a long rope, passing it over his neck, and put each one on the ground near Hikasa's hands. The Weightlifter put his hands on top of the weights, where he grasped them tightly. Whatever was going on, surely it'd involve them.

Suddenly the concrete section where he was laying rose into the air, just enough for the rope to tighten due to the weights, choking him. The only way he could counter it was to lift the weights enough for it to not to kill him. He had to lift both weights at the same time; otherwise, he'd still choke.

He knew he wouldn't last long. From time to time he had to let the weights go, but he couldn't gather his energies before the thick rope tightened again on his neck, crushing it. After a few minutes of agonizing efforts, he didn't have enough strength to continue. He gave up, letting the weights go and trying to relax. Soon he started seeing stars in front of him, until he passed out. He finally died strangled by the rope.

** Mika Yamaguchi, ex-SHSL Fashion Designer **

**Unwilling Follower**

Yamaguchi was tied to a table, completely immobile. Her surroundings reminded her of her own workshop; it was filled with samples and mannequins, and needles littered the surface of the table. Just what could Monobear be planning to do to her? The fact that she was tied gave her a horrible feeling.

Finally it was time to finally know what was going on. Monobear approached, carrying a basket with assorted items. Yamaguchi couldn't differentiate what it had, but she knew she'd find out soon. Monobear ruthlessly ripped to shreds with his claws the red jacket Yamaguchi had been wearing all the time, revealing the clothes underneath. The graduates knew what they were, they had seen them broadcasted: they were an almost identical copy of Enoshima's clothes. The bear also went to the long socks Yamaguchi had and got rid of them, showing the bare skin.

-"What are you doing?"- Yamaguchi asked, trying to stay calm. Monobear didn't reply, instead he took out a little case from the basket, opening it; he pulled out what Yamaguchi recognized as contact lenses. They were of a strangely alluring gray color, but Yamaguchi had now understood what could be going on. Monobear was trying to turn her into a copy of Junko Enoshima.

Taking advantage of the restraints on Yamaguchi's head, Monobear forced her to keep her eyes open, threatening to slice them with his claws if she didn't stop resisting. Yamaguchi complied nervously, thinking that mere contact lenses wouldn't be so bad. Monobear put them on with unexpected precision, and moved onto the next part. He pulled out what Yamaguchi assumed was a wig of the same color of Enoshima's hair. Maybe he was just going to put it on her, but how was that going to kill her? It was an execution, after all.

A sudden pain erupted on top of her head. It was a prickling pain, and she could feel something getting attached to her head. She realized that Monobear was stitching the wig on her. She tried to get way, to at least move her head far from him, but she was way too well restrained. It was impossible to move anything, so Monobear continued stitching, until the wig was safely secured. Once it was, he moved to Yamaguchi's chest. Yamaguchi was crying at that point, mostly from the pain, but also because of the fear she was feeling in that moment. What would Monobear do now? She was already identical to Enoshima! What else could he do?

Monobear pulled out the last object from the basket: a stake. He aimed directly over Yamaguchi's heart, and with a swift motion, buried it into her chest. Yamaguchi twitched for a moment and died. Finally, after destroying her heart, Monobear had achieved a perfect copy of Enoshima.

** Ian Curtis/Masamune Toyotomi, ex-SHSL Prosthethic Makeup Artist **

**Nondescript**

Toyotomi was suspended on the canvas, his arms and legs extended towards the corners. He was forced to face towards the front of the room, where Monobear was tinkering what seemed like several catapults.

Once they were ready, the bear moved them until they were aiming towards Toyotomi, and loaded thick globs of paint on the catapults. Toyotomi wasn't sure how that would kill him, paint wasn't that bad.

Monobear fired one of the catapults, launching a thick blob of paint onto the canvas, merely a foot away of Toyotomi's head. He saw how the paint adhered to the canvas, instead of coloring it; instead it stayed in its place as a big ball of paint. Underneath the paint, the canvas started rotting, as if the paint were corroding it.

The catapults started firing regularly, striking Toyotomi and the canvas around him with different colors. Each time the paint touched his skin, it started tingling and burning. His clothes were starting to rot. The makeup he had used to disguise his real skin tone dissolved in several spots, and when his beanie hat and wig was struck by paint, they fell down, exposing his real hair. One of the blobs of paint hit him square on the face, sticking there. Toyotomi shook his head the best he could feeling he was suffocating. The paint was too thick and wasn't letting him breath, and his eyes were in serious pain. His contact lenses may have been the only thing that protected him from being blind now.

With some effort and luck, he managed to clear enough paint from his face to be able to breathe again, despite the paint still burning his skin, and slowly opened his eyes. While he took air, gasping, he saw that Monobear was approaching, holding a white blank mask and a bucket of paint. Slowly and deliberately, the bear poured the paint on the inside of the mask, and put it on Toyotomi's face. The Artist struggled, but now there was no way for him to remove it. It was adhered to its place, and soon he was suffocating again, just that this time it was a blank mask hiding his real face.

Soon his struggles died, but Monobear didn't remove the mask. Everybody who was observing was grateful for that, as they didn't want to see the results of all that corroding paint on Toyotomi's face.

** Yukio Ohmoto, ex-SHSL Law Assistant **

**Brotherly Bond**

Yukio was on the defendant's chair, with the guillotine hanging over his head. Reiji was the one holding the rope.

However Reiji didn't seem like he was very impressed to see his brother in risk of dying because of him. He seemed indifferent about the whole matter.

When Monobear signaled Reiji to let the blade go, he accepted. Without hesitating, Reiji let the rope go, and the guillotine severed Yukio's head. Reiji contemplated the result for a moment before getting out of the execution room.

** Akane Ogata, ex-SHSL Chemist **

**Chemistry is fun!**

Akane found herself inside what seemed like a ridiculously big beaker. Slowly, she stood up and observed her surroundings. She was standing on a layer of sand, and was trapped by glass walls, staring upwards towards the mouth of the flask she could see that over her head she could see what seemed like a cork with a long glass tube in middle. Monobear, operating from a room far away from her, lowered the cork to the flask, sealing it with the exception of the tube. Akane, still trying to understand how she was going to die, saw how a contraption on the ceiling injected some sort of slightly yellowish glass into the flask, through the tube. Her eyes watered, it was barely breathable, but she wasn't going to suffocate. She couldn't identify what it was.

Afterwards, a stone of the size of her head fell through the tube of glass. This time she did see what it was, recognized it as sodium, had an epiphany of what the gas around here was, and in panic, she started punching the glass walls as hard as she could. As expected, there was no progress; the most she did was hurt her hands. She knew she was going to die and that it'd come soon, if Monobear was doing what she thought he was doing.

Finally, the contraption sent water through the tube, and sealed it. The water slowly trickled down the tube, Akane could only watch powerlessly how her fate was sealed. The water finally fell on the rock of sodium. The reaction happened quickly. There were some sparks, and the sodium was set ablaze. There was an explosion, powered by the gas, contained into the flask. Thanks to the sand, the flask didn't burst, meaning Akane received the whole impact and heat of the explosion.

When the light and fire subsided, there was nothing left of her.


	48. Extras: Unused Free Time Events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 35 pages in Word. Oh my.
> 
> So, before I even started writing, I had written some prompts for the Free Time events, and defined which ones were important for the plot. When I was in middle of each chapter, I decided which ones to write depending of the story, so several ended being unused.
> 
> Here they are, recently written.

* * *

** Hoshio Saitou, ex-SHSL Salesman **

**Number of unused Free Time events: Three**

-ooooo-

-"Saitou-kun!"- Akane saw the Salesman sitting in the Lounge, contemplating the fountain. He seemed to be deep in thought, which was strange. In the little time Akane had known him, he had never seemed like the type to think like that. Saitou looked up when he heard Akane, and showing his apparently most welcoming smile, he stood up.

-"Ogata-san, bless your soul! How is one of our smartest graduates feeling today?"-

For a moment Akane regretted coming there. She hated Saitou's sycophantic behavior. The last thing she needed was somebody who was going to go around her whispering empty compliments. However, instead of leaving, she decided to speak her mind.

-"Can you stop doing that? It's annoying! Can't you go five minutes before trying to kiss somebody's ass?"-

That went harsher than she wanted.

Saitou's smile slowly vanished, and he sat again, looking forlorn. Akane hurriedly apologized –"I-I'm sorry, Saitou-kun. I didn't mean to yell at you"-

-"It's okay"- he replied quietly. Hesitantly, Akane approached and sat on the fountain. What she was going to ask was going to sound somewhat inconsiderate, but she honestly wanted to know.

-"Why do you go around complimenting people like that? It is..."- she picked her words carefully –"It is giving people a bad impression. You don't need to do that"-

Saitou's shoulders dropped. He didn't say anything for a while, instead staring at the water pouring into the fountain. Akane waited patiently, feeling that there was something struggling in Saitou's soul. Maybe there was a reason, after all, for him doing that.

-"You must have noticed that I'm not exactly Japanese"- he finally said. Akane simply nodded. –"My mother is from Namibia. It's an African country. She met my father while he was visiting the country, and they married. But instead of staying over there, he brought her into Japan"-

Akane had noticed that Saitou was pretty different from the others. His much darker skin tone and his black rough hair did hint a more exotic origin, but she hadn't expected it to be a country she hadn't even heard of before. Saitou continued talking.

-"I was born here in Japan, and when I was just a toddler we moved into a suburban house. My father was a relatively known man around, but that didn't...do any favors to my mother and us. People rejected us. Some of them even said to our faces that we didn't belong among them. We were practically pariahs in our own neighborhood"-

-"That is..."- Akane didn't have any words. It seemed like classic racism. She did know that in Japan, a lot of people weren't accepting of foreigners, and even more of those with a dark skin tone such like Saitou, but hearing about it from somebody who had suffered it directly was jarring.

-"We spent years in a hell. Every time any of us went outside, we were jeered and insulted by a lot of people. My mother couldn't even go to a convenience store without being the target of insulting remarks"- his voice was now strained, it was clear he was furious about it –"We asked our father many times for us to move somewhere else, but he always refused. It wasn't that he didn't love us or anything, it was that it wasn't easy for him to let go the life he had built from before he even met my mother. So we continued living there.

In an effort to try to make friends and at least be accepted...well...I decided to be kinder. I started complimenting people around, and before I noticed, it was something I did automatically. I wanted to stop the mocking and the insults. It didn't really work, but I was more accepted...or at least I think I was. I never knew what people really thought of me"-

Akane felt guilty. To that point she had thought Saitou did that to merely get on people's good side, and while that was kinda the underlying reason, she hadn't ever thought it was that bad. –"You don't need to go around complimenting people, Saitou-kun"-

-"...You know, my classmates in Hope's Peak...most of them were...strangely accepting of me. It was odd to be able to interact with other people without needing to try to get on their good sides like that. At the beginning I did do it, but after some weeks they made clear it wasn't needed. Still...I can't stop it. I feel that if I stop...I'll return to being insulted relentlessly. I don't want that again"-

Akane sat closet to him, and put her hand on his shoulder. –"Don't worry, Saitou—kun. Nobody here will insult you"- She wasn't sure that was true. Miyata definitely wasn't going to simply be friendly with him, and to be honest she wouldn't be surprised if he was racist, on top of being a prick. Toriumi wasn't exactly the kindest person either, but at least she expected her to not to insult Saitou for his race. After all, Toriumi was the closest one to him in terms of skin tone, even if she was of Japanese origin.

_Saitou told me several jarring stories about his childhood_

-ooooo-

-"Ogata-san, would you like to buy this?"- Saitou shoved in her face a brooch, apparently made of crystal. Akane softly pushed it away.

-"No, thanks. I don't have much money in here"-

-"You can pay me after we're out of here"- he continued, putting the brooch into Akane's hand –"I won't accept a no for an answer. Imagine how it'd look on you. With the right set of clothes and this brooch, I'm sure that even Yamaguchi-san would say you look gorgeous"-

Akane stared at the brooch for a moment, and sighing, she accepted it to at least appease him. –"Alright, alright. I'll take it. But is this how you sell? By trying to force people to buy junk?"-

-"No, I rarely do that. I knew that you wouldn't have any money, that you weren't even interested in the brooch, and that it had no use in this shelter. So the only way to sell it was to, well, annoy you until you bought it to shut me up"- he answered shamelessly, smiling. Akane chuckled, that was exactly why she had bought it.

-"How nice. Where do you get this stuff, by the way?"-

-"Some novelty stores want to get rid of merchandise they were unable to sell, so they call me. I take the products, and sell it without fail. I keep a nice commission and give the money to the stores. Everybody wins, except the client, sometimes"- Saitou shrugged.

-"What things have you sold? You must have seen a lot of stuff in your career"-

-"Eh, nothing interesting has come from those stores. It's mostly kitschy stuff nobody would want to buy"- Saitou stayed silent for a moment, before speaking again. –"That isn't all I have sold, thought. Ogata-san, do you promise me you won't tell anybody about what I'll tell you?"-

-"About what?"-

-"Well...follow me"- Saitou led Akane to his room, and opened the door. Akane looked at the room. There were several boxes with what seemed like more novelty products, but instead, Saitou opened the closet and took out what looked like a big notebook. –"Here's where I keep a record of my sales. I have photos of the products, and...don't tell anybody about this"-

-"If it is so secret, why are you showing it to me?"- She asked.

Saitou sighed –"Well, I feel I can trust you. I don't know exactly why, but it was...nice to tell somebody about my childhood and past. Nobody had listened to me before like that. It was nice to vent. I feel I can trust you, Ogata-san, and you'll be the first to know why I really was the SHSL Salesman"- and with that, he opened the notebook, giving it to Akane.

Akane perused each page, finding photos of sculptures and paintings. They were beautiful, and clearly weren't something to be found in a flea market. She could even recognize a couple known paintings among them. There were exorbitant prices scribbled to the side of each photo. –"You sold this stuff?"-

-"They're counterfeits of the original art. One of the store owners I worked with was a...shady guy. He obtained counterfeits and sold them in the black market. I was in charge of the selling operation. As I was successful, that guy directed me to other people I knew, and soon I was a big part of the counterfeit art trafficking"-

-"Isn't that illegal?"- She said as tactfully as possible.

-"It is"-

-"Then why did you do it?"-

-"...I...well, I needed money. A lot of money and the commissions for these sales were amazing"-

-"Are you telling me that you did all of this for pure greed?"- Akane was astonished. Saitou had never seemed the greedy type, despite his profession. This was destroying the impression she had of him.

-"It wasn't money for me. It was..."- Saitou interrupted himself, instead shaking his head –"Sorry, I feel strange. I need a moment"- And with that, Saitou pushed Akane out of the bedroom and closed the door. Akane stood in the hallway, dumbfounded.

_I waited for Saitou to open the door again. He didn't do it_

-ooooo-

Saitou was in the library, reading what seemed like a self-help book. Akane slowly approached. –"Hello, Saitou-kun. What do you have there?"-

-"Nothing important"- he answered, closing the book and putting it on the table. 'How to build your confidence and use it to conquer the world'. –"Just reading a bit"-

-"Nice. Saitou-kun, I have been somewhat concerned about you...last time we talked, you acted very strange, rudely pushing me out of your bedroom"- Akane went directly to the reason she had been looking for Saitou. The Salesman shrugged.

-"I wasn't sure if I should tell you. I have revealed you so much about myself yet I was hesitating about this last thing...my reasons to get involved in the counterfeit trafficking"-

-"It was that, yes. Are you ready to tell me or something?"-

-"I think I am"- Saitou wringed his hands, gathering courage –"I told you that my mother and I had asked my father for us to move somewhere else, but he wasn't able to let go the life he had built. So...I was gathering enough money for us to go somewhere else. If he wasn't capable of it, then I was going to help. I was going to earn enough money for us to live somewhere else, without my father needing to work so much like he did"-

-"Ah!"- Akane understood. To start a new life somewhere else, a lot of money would be required, especially if one had a lot of ties to a place. It was no wonder Saitou needed so much money. –"Were you able to gather enough money?"-

-"Yep! Soon I had more than enough, even enough for us to live comfortable for quite some time. But then...something that neither of us expected happened"-

-"And what was that?"-

-"I received the invitation from Hope's Peak"- he said bluntly –"For a moment we feared it was a trap, that somebody had found out about my illegal activities and was going to put me in jail. But my father researched and confirmed that it was authentic, I really had been invited by Hope's Peak. So...now there was a choice. I either went with them to start our new life, or I stayed behind, with a substantial part of the money, while they moved, but they wouldn't be able to live as good as I had wanted"-

-"And you decided to stay"-

-"My mother helped me decide that. We...we thought it was better if I didn't continue with the art trafficking. Graduating from Hope's Peak would mean that I could get a legal job with an excellent pay, most likely. It was the chance we needed for me to stop. We planned for me to graduate, and then we'd move to a country where racism wasn't so much of a problem, with the Hope's Peak diploma, I'd be able to triumph anywhere."-

-"How did that go?"-

Finally Saitou smiled with genuine pride. –"It worked. I graduated, found an excellent job overseas, we moved, and we lived happily until...well, the world ended. I was here in Japan when it happened, in a business trip. I had no way out, and soon I lost contact with my parents. I don't know where they are, or if they are okay. When things get better...I'll look for them. And then we'll try to obtain a good life again"-

Saitou finished his tale. –"I had never told anybody so much about me. Thank you for listening, Ogata-san. It was nice to talk to you"-

-"It was nice to talk to you too, Saitou-kun"-

And after that, Saitou left the library. Akane could see he was a changed man now. He seemed more confident about himself and about who he was. Whether it was because he talked to her, or because he read that self-help book, it didn't matter.

** Aya Sawashiro, ex-SHSL Medium **

**Number of Unused Free Time Events: Three**

Sawashiro was in the cafeteria, relaxing with a cup of coffee. –"Hey, Ogata-san! Come here!"- Akane approached. Sawashiro gestured her to sit down, and smiling excitedly, spoke. –"Listen, tonight we're thinking about doing a medium session. I was wondering if you'd like to be part of it"-

-"A medium session? In a moment like this?"-

-"It's the perfect moment for a medium session"- she said with a tone that showed it was obvious –"The deceased are clairvoyant in a sense. With their help we can take better decisions"-

-"Are you saying that you can contact dead fortunetellers? Can the dead really predict the future?"-

-"They can't predict the future"- she replied, amused –"But they can sense the actual energy currents in the world. In a way, they can know people's intentions, in a general sense. It'd be good to rely on them before taking big decisions"-

-"Do you think they could tell us who the Mastermind is?"-

-"No, I don't think so. But with their assistance, we could avoid casualties. That is, if they feel like cooperating. They tend to be horribly cryptic. I once asked them why they were so cryptic. I didn't understand very well, but they had said that it was because life was some sort of test or something. It's strange..."-

Akane stopped her before she started rambling about the cryptic ways of the dead –"Sure, I'll be there. But can you really do a medium session in here?"-

-"I don't see why not. I just need to prepare the required elements for the atmosphere, and we'll do it"-

-"How did you learn to talk with the dead, by the way? How did you find out you had that ability?"-

Sawashiro didn't answer. Instead she brought several red and yellow candles from the kitchen –"How convenient that there were candles in there, eh? Come on, give me a hand!"-

Akane couldn't avoid feeling that Sawashiro was hiding something. She was feigning an excessive amount of cheeriness, but she decided it wasn't time to press her.

_I helped her set up the cafeteria for the medium session_

-ooooo-

-"Sawashiro-san, could you do me a favor?"- Akane asked, hesitating. Sawashiro looked up –"Could you tell me if it could be possible for you to...bring a soul here? Like...a possession?"-

Sawashiro stared for a moment before laughing softly –"Why? Got somebody you want to see?"-

-"No, I have been thinking...if somebody dies, then that person could tell us the culprit, right? Trials would be really easy. So, can you?"-

-"I can let somebody's soul possess me for a short while, but it's something I'd like to avoid doing...it's a nasty experience. I can't describe how it feels"- Sawashiro shuddered with such expression that Akane instantly backtracked everything she had said.

-"You don't need to do it, I was just wondering"-

-"Thanks. But is that all? I have the feeling there's something else you'd like to talk about"- Sawashiro said calmly. Akane avoided her gaze. The Medium was more perceptive than what Akane had thought. Indeed, she had wanted to once again ask her about how she had found out about her powers. It kept bothering her; she was convinced there was something she was hiding. She decided to go ahead and ask.

-"Really, Sawashiro-san, how did you find out about your powers?"-

Sawashiro sighed, and as if Akane had forced her, she decided to talk. –"Well... well, it was the silver lining of a terrible moment in my life. Somebody close to me had died"-

-"Really?"-

-"Yeah. You see, I'm an orphan, and I had practically no family...except for my grandmother. She took care of me for years, and I loved her. She used to tell me about my parents; about who they were...she was the one who told me everything about my family. Apparently there's some sort of genetic disease in our family, which is why there has been so many deaths. Through sheer bad luck both of our families had genes that, combined, increased the chances of having that disease"-

-"Does that mean that you have that disease too?"-

-"I do. I may die when I'm around thirty-five years old"- she was grim now, and with a good reason. She had practically lived for around half of her total life already –"Baba was somehow unaffected, but someday she had to die...and it happened. I was alone in the world"-

-"My condolences"- Akane murmured

-"Yeah...I was sent to an orphanage. I was twelve at the time, so I was too old to be adopted, but I still needed to have guardians. It was a nice orphanage, but I wasn't happy. I...missed Baba. I think I discovered my abilities after an...hallucination"-

-"An hallucination"- Akane repeated, not sure what she meant. Sawashiro rubbed her head.

-"Yes. Do you know how some people when they hit their head too hard they start having hallucinations? Well, like that. I used to hallucinate that Baba came to talk to me and give me courage to continue living"-

-"And did you find out it really was her?"-

Sawashiro ignored her and instead continued the story. -"I think that those hallucinations were what pushed me forward. I researched everything I could find about talking to the dead, contacting them, etc. You have no idea how many things I tried, but one day...I felt her voice in my head. At first I was afraid I was still hallucinating, but after the situation repeated...I started to believe it really was her"-

-"So you found your medium powers while you tried to find a way to talk to your grandmother again"- Akane concluded. Sawashiro smiled faintly.

-"Yeah...that is it. Good things can come from desperation sometimes, I suppose..."-

_Sawashiro and I talked abour our families during the next hour_

-ooooo-

Sawashiro was once again in the cafeteria, breathing deeply. It was almost time for the session. She had her eyes closed, focused on her breathing. Akane slowly approached, unsure if she should interrupt, but before she could decide, Sawashiro opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Akane. –"Ogata-san! Are you ready for the session?"-

-"I'm nervous...I have never been on one of these things before"- Akane said, straightening her lab coat. She was more skeptical than nervous, but she wasn't going to say that.

-"Oh, there's nothing to worry about. Dead people can't hurt anybody. In fact, I can guarantee you that even the evilest person, after death, will only want the best for those who are still alive"-

-"Really? How do you know that?"-

-"I have taken part in several summoning sessions. At times I have even allowed spirits to take over my body. Sure, they still have emotions and memories, and I can feel them, but not even once I have felt negative feelings"-

-"It could be that you haven't encountered a truly evil soul yet"-

Sawashiro scoffed –"Come on. I was once called to summon a serial killer in order to clarify his involvement in several unsolved cases. I got to the prison, to the cell where he had died, and communicated with him. And guess what?"-

-"What?"-

-"He apologized. And not only that, he dictated me several long letters directed to each of the families of the victims, deeply apologizing for everything and telling them that his victims' souls and him had already encountered and he had been forgiven by them. It was completely sincere"-

Akane was surer that it was possible the poor soul was in purgatory and needed to apologize in order to get out of there, but didn't say anything. Does purgatory even exist?"-

-"Hell, I'm sure that if I summoned Enoshima right now, she'd apologize and try to tell us how to fight SHSL Despair"-

-"No way. That can't happen"- Akane said quickly. Sawashiro grinned.

-"Are you sure? Why don't we try and see?"- She said, amused by Akane's pale expression –"A few hundred yen that I'm right"-

-"I'm not betting anything, just don't do it"- the Chemist replied bluntly. Even if Sawashiro was kidding, she wasn't going to take any chances –"What perks are there to being a Medium?"-

-"Well...one of the perks I have found as a medium is that I have access to the answers to several questions people have about what happens after one's death. What do you say; do you feel like being enlightened tonight?"-

_Sawashiro answered to me several questions about what there is after death_

-ooooo-

** Mishio Matsukaze, ex-SHSL Detective **

**Number of Unused Free Times: Two**

Matsukaze was peering into Monobear's office, as if he were trying to memorize it. Akane carefully spoke, trying to not to break his concentration. –"Matsukaze-kun? I'm sorry to bother you, but have you made any progress on your investigation?"-

-"...Yeeeees...I have. I'm the greatest investigative mind of the century, after all. What did you expect?"- He looked at Akane, annoyed. Akane raised her hands as if she were apologizing.

-"I was just wondering. I'm starting to get antsy...and I have no idea how to investigate who the Mastermind is"-

-"But you're a Chemist. Shouldn't you have an analytical and organized mind perfect for something like this?"- He nodded, satisfied after his faraway examination of Monobear's offie, and beckoned Akane to follow him into the garden, where he started checking the soil among the plants.

-"I do, but I'm not experienced in investigations"-

-"Maybe it's merely matter of time before you can do progress. I'll tell you what, I'll give you for free a few tips, okay?"-

Akane accepted, and Matsukaze prodded the soil while talking. –"First than all, narrow down the list of suspects. Find people you can trust and enlist them to find out the truth. Do you have people in this shelter that you're sure aren't the Mastermind?"-

-"Uh...well, there's Toriumi-san and Chiba-san...and you"- Akane added after a pause. She did fully trust Toriumi and Chiba, but wasn't completely sure about Matsukaze. She hadn't known him for long enough. Matsukaze nodded and stood up, getting rid of the soil in his nails.

-"Good choices, they're smart and calm women. Especially Chiba-san. So, I suggest you reunite with them and exchange information. I bet that they have found something good"-

-"But what if none of us have found something useful?"-

Matsukaze dropped his shoulders, as if that were an idiotic question –"Then keep investigating, damn it! The Mastermind isn't going to come to you and present themselves as the villain here. You'll need to do a lot of effort. Have you tried investigating Monobear's office yet?"-

-"No"-

-"Well, I saw Chiba-san begging to Monobear for permission. Get permission as well. I just hope Monobear won't be too harsh or crude on any of you"- he walked to the voltage box, and opened it, examining the connections and numbers.

-"Let's exchange information: what have you found?"- Akane asked, trying to follow Matsukaze's instructions.

-"I'm not ready yet to share my findings with anybody, but as I said before, I have narrowed considerably the pool of suspects. But there's something I can say"- he paused, waiting for Akane to prompt him to ask. Once Akane did, he turned around, took down his hat and with a dramatic gesture, unfitting of his normally stoic behavior, said with an intense stare: -"The Mastermind's influence goes beyond this shelter! I have good reasons to think that this foe may be part of something much larger than we all thought before. And it doesn't have to be related to SHSL Despair, either!"-

-"But if it isn't from SHSL Despair, then from who?"-

Matsukaze put on his hat and ignored the question. –"I can't reveal more information. You find out by yourself, all you need to find is in Monobear's office, surely. Didn't you see the computer in there? Find a way to enter and take a look in there. I'm done with you; please leave me alone to investigate"-

Akane couldn't avoid admiring Matsukaze. The man had been sleuthing non-stop since they had been in the shelter. Surely somebody with so much determination would manage to get everybody out!

_I left the garden to find Chiba or Toriumi_

-ooooo-

Matsukaze was pacing from one side to other, in front of the entrance to the shelter. He seemed to be thinking about something important, his furrowed brow showed the seriousness of his thoughts. Akane approached, getting his attention. Matsukaze tensely straightened his tie, although he couldn't do much due to the thick belt across his abdomen. –"Ogata-san, any progress?"-

-"Uh...well, I talked with Chiba-san, but neither of us have a concrete suspect yet...but why are you so tense?"-

Matsukaze took off his hat and messed his hair –"I'm trying to take a decision. I already have suspects, I told you that already. And I also told you I'm getting ready to interrogate a couple graduates so I can be certain. But..."-

-"But what?"- it wasn't normal for Matsukaze to seem so nervous.

-"I feel like I could be in a lot of danger. If the Mastermind suspects I'm getting too close, I bet I'd die. And if I die, well, there's that notebook I already hid, but if it gets destroyed, then what? Nobody would know who to be wary of. My work would be for naught"-

-"There must be another way for you to pass on your information"- Akane said

-"There must be! I simply don't know how"- Matsukaze exhaled loudly –"I suppose I'll have to take the risk and go ahead. Do you know where is Chiba-san? I need to talk to her about something"-

-"I think she's in her bedroom"-

-"Okay, thanks, Ogata-san"- he walked to the bedrooms hall, but before entering, he turned around. –"Ogata-san, I need you to promise me something"-

-"Eh? What is it?"-

-"Promise me that no matter how dangerous it seems or how strange it sounds, you'll pursue my reasoning to the end. If I die, it's up to you and the rest to continue. I'll show you the beginning of the road, it's up to the rest of you to get to the end and catch the Mastermind. Do you promise?"-

-"Sure, I promise"- the truth is that Akane wasn't really willing to promise without seeing the evidence first. However, it seemed like Matsukaze was in a hurry, so she thought it'd be faster to simply say yes and get over it. Matsukaze nodded, satisfied, and left towards the bedroom halls.

_I must talk to Matsukaze again later._

** Masaru Miyata, ex-SHSL CEO **

**Number of Free Times Unused: Two**

Akane entered the lounge. She was wandering around, trying to keep herself busy, otherwise, the pessimism about their situation would overwhelm her. When she saw Miyata in the Lounge, she sighed. He wasn't the person she'd like to spend time with, but before she could leave, Miyata waved to her. –"Hey there, Ogata-san"-

-"Miyata-kun, what're you doing?"-

-"Nothing, just…hanging around"- the teenager was sprawled on one of the couches, looking at the ceiling –"You?"-

-"Walking around, not much"-

The conversation died there. An awkward silence filled the Lounge, so Akane turned around to leave when Miyata stopped her. –"Ogata-san, wait. I want to ask something"-

-"What is it?"-

-"Why do you keep hanging out with the other people here? They're nothing special. I frankly don't see how they can be good company"- his tone was cold but inquisitive. Akane suppressed the urge to shout at him, and replied.

-"I like them. They're nice people, and I enjoy their company because they are interesting and actually do the effort to be sociable"-

-"I'm not very knowledgeable about social stuff, but I can see you don't want to be with me"-

-"No, I don't"- Akane said with total honesty. Miyata stood up, and walked to Akane in what seemed to be a dominant stance.

-"Well, that can't be, can it? Look, I think you're different from them in the sense that you're a lot more worthwhile, but if you keep choosing the wrong people, you won't get far in ife, got it?"-

-"And who are the right people?"-

-"People who can help you get further in life, of course. What can those people give you? Nothing. They won't be of any help, in any way"-

The disgust Akane felt was growing with each word. She had given him a chance, that's why she had bothered to try to give him a few social tips, but it was clear that he had spent that time with her merely because it was her, not because he wanted the tips. –"I see. I frankly don't see how you can help me"-

Miyata scowled. –"Are you a fucking idiot?"- afterwards, he breathed deeply, and apologized, calmer. –"What I mean is that I can be much more useful. Look at me. I succeeded in life at an early age. I was merely thirteen years old when I formed an official company! Has any of them done such a thing before?"- he smirked, smug. –"They haven't. Nobody has been as successful as me"-

-"They have been successful in their own careers. What you do can't compare to what they do, nor they can compare themselves to you"- Akane once again tried to leave, but Miyata once again called to her.

-"One more thing: can you stop leaving me aside, damn it! It's getting annoying to be having to get your attention every time because you can't keep your damn mind in here"-

Akane finally lost her patience. She turned around with fury in her eyes. –"Do you want to know why I don't want to spend any time with you? It's because you're insufferable. You're an absolutely detestable person, and I want nothing to do with you. For all I care you may turn into the richest teenager in the world, but that won't make you any more likable. Do you think anybody in this shelter would give a damn if anything happens to you? It's more likely they'll be relieved if you die. I won't be surprised if any of them snaps and kills you"- and with that, she practically ran away. She didn't see Miyata's shocked expression, nor him slumping over the couch again. Akane simply went away.

_I tried to stay as far away from Miyata as possible_

-ooooo-

Akane was among the shelves in the library, looking for anything to read that could interest her, when she felt a presence behind her. Nervously, she slowly turned around, and felt somewhat frustrated when she saw it was just Miyata. The teenager had approached her stealthily, but she didn't feel as threatened as she should have, as Miyata seemed almost...apologetic.

-"I'm going to try to be just a bit nicer"- he said bluntly, with a tone that showed he didn't really mean it. –"I'll give everybody else a try, but I don't have high hopes for any of them"- and there it was. The same Miyata she knew.

-"How nice. And how will you do that?"-

-"...I don't know. I suppose I could start by not snapping at them when they make me lose my patience"-

Akane had to admit that was a reasonable start –"Good, that should be a god place to start. But Miyata-kun, let me ask something, and please be honest: are you doing this for some motive, or are you really willing to be nicer?"-

The CEO threw his hands in the air, exasperated –"If it were my choice I wouldn't bother, okay? They're a bunch of insects, for all I care"-

-"Then why are you doing this? Lying and pretending to want to be nicer?"- She asked with obvious hatred.

-"I just wanted you to like me, okay? I won't have a chance with you if I'm not nicer to the rest. I'm willing to give it a try if it means at least having a chance with you"- Miyata confessed. Akane was silent for a moment. She wasn't flattered at all. Miyata looked almost dorky with his fidgeting and the slight blush, but she knew that it was still the same detestable and cold teenager, one of the most dislikable people she had ever met.

There was no way she'd even think of him as a friend, much less as a partner, like he wanted. He thought of saying it now before he went even further.

-"You won't get me to like you at all. You're definitely not my type, you have no regard towards anybody's wellbeing, and you're seven years younger than me. There's no way I'll like you, so it'll be better that you stop once and for all"-

Maybe that was way too direct? She didn't know, but it was too late to backpedal. Miyata froze for a moment, until he frowned. She could see he was very upset, but at least he didn't lash out. But his words at the end didn't hint that everything would be good between them from now on.

-"I give up. This is not worth my time"- and with those words, he left the library. Akane watched him go, and sighed. She knew that things would be tense for a good while.

She only hoped it wouldn't turn into something worse.

** Masashi Sakurai, ex-SHSL Good Luck **

**Number of unused free times: Two**

Sakurai was on the workshop, serrating some wood. Akane observed how he carefully used the saw to make curved shapes on the wood, until he had several pieces in front of him. –"For how long have you known carpentry?"-

Sakurai looked up when she heard Akane. –"Uh, two months. It's just a project to entertain myself. Things in this shelter can get boring"-

-"Definitely"-

-"Now that you're here, I'd like to ask you a favor"- Sakurai left the saw aside –"Do you know to cook?"-

-"Cooking is like chemistry, I say. I have some abilities"- Akane answered

-"Could you teach me a few things? I need to learn something new, and I have never cooked before"-

-"There aren't any stuff in here to cook"- Sakurai seemed disappointed when he heard that –"But there could be other activities for you to try. What about a game?"-

Soon Sakurai and Akane were in the Recreation Room, staring at the pool table –"I have never played pool"- Sakurai commented.

-"I have played a couple times before. It isn't hard, let me show you"- Akane set up the pool balls, and carefully aimed at them. –"You just have to hit those so they go into the holes on the sides. It's easy"- she hit the white ball, hitting the side of the triangle. The balls rolled around the table, and once they stopped, Akane passed Sakurai a pool cue. The graduate imitated Akane's position, and hit the ball. When he did that, the pool cue slid in his hands. He gasped in pain and stood up, examining his hands. He had somehow scratched them when he had moved the cue.

-"Are you okay?"-

-"It's just a scratch. I'm used to this kind of wounds"-

-"You grabbed the pool cue incorrectly. The best way would be to..."-

Sakurai interrupted her gently, and after Akane's turn he positioned himself again. The difference is that this time he looked like an expert. The first shot he had done had hit the white ball on a side, making it bounce around and hit a couple balls slightly, but this time his hands were in a different position. He concentrated and shot.

This time the white ball ricocheted through the pool table, hitting several balls. Two of them fell into the holes. Sakurai stood up straight, proud. –"Now that's better"-

-"That was...are you sure you have never played before? The position you had..."-

-"I learned I had my hands in the wrong position. I also didn't have enough strength due to the position of my arms, and I saw how the balls bounced on the sides and between each other. That first shot was really useful. Stuff like this always happens"-

-"What always happens?"-

-"When I try to learn something, most times I do a mistake in my first attempt. Nothing grave, at least. I...I can't explain exactly how, but that mistake always shows me the most important details I need to correct. I do it, and apparently, thanks to that I manage to be really good, for a first-timer. So after that it's only matter of continuing practicing"-

-"Beginner's luck"- Akane commented. Sakurai shrugged.

-"I think it's more than that. It happens way too frequently. No matter what I try, I always find out quickly what I do wrong. Nobody I know has experienced that before. It could be said..."- Sakurai smiled, pleased with himself –"...that I'm lucky, in that regard. My luck allows me to learn several talents, instead of focusing on one or two like most people"-

-"So is that how you learned everything else?"-

-"I was eight when the TV broke while I was watching it. My parents were away, so I peeked behind it. I unplugged it and managed to open the back of the TV. I messed with the insides for a while, moving a few connections, and then plugged it back. You have no idea the horrible noise it made when I turned it on, I feared it was going to explode. I quickly turned it off again and opened the TV again."-

-"So you found what was wrong"-

-"Something like that. In that second glance, I saw that some connections looked odd. Not only the ones I had made, there were some that were originally there. I rearranged the stuff, and my parents arrived to the room just when I was closing the back. They pushed me aside and called a professional electrician. When the guy arrived, he examined the TV and said that it was perfectly fine, and even better than before. I had apparently corrected a few problems it originally had"-

-"Wow"- Akane wasn't sure of what to say. That really didn't seem like mere luck. Sakurai was nostalgic.

-"You know what? I think that my biggest strike of luck was entering to Hope's Peak. Sure, I had many talents, but none of them got to the level of a SHSL student, because I didn't focus on improving them. But...this invitation allowed me to learn from experts several other talents. I can proudly say I'm a jack of all trades. I can do many more things than a lot of people will learn in decades. That's my good luck: my ability to actually learn talents"-

_Sakurai and I played pool. He won just a few turns later._

-ooooo-

Akane entered the Lounge and found Sakurai standing inside the fountain. The graduate was splashing playfully around, as if it were perfectly normal. Akane approached, baffled. –"What are you doing in there?"- She asked, amused and weirded out.

-"I'm just refreshing myself. And thinking...about some stuff"-

-"Do you really need to be in the fountain to think?"-

-I think better when I'm in the shower, and my bathroom seems to have some plumbing problems"- Sakurai got out of the fountain, and stretched –"Ogata-san, can I ask you something?"-

-"What is it?"-

-"Do I really deserve to be here?"-

-"Nobody deserves to be trapped in here"- That was Akane's automatic answer. She supposed Sakurai meant if he deserved to be locked in the shelter, but the young man shook his head.

-"No, I mean, I was called here to help restore the world, but...am I really good enough to help? I mean, none of my talents can reach your levels. Could I really help any of you?"- Before Akane could reply, Sakurai turned around –"Nevermind, I'm just feeling insecure. Don't pay attention to me"-

-"Why are you suddenly feeling insecure?"-

-"Well...we're all in the risk of dying, and that made me think a lot about my life...there are so many things I haven't done yet, and I don't want to die before learning more. I feel my purpose in life is learning as much as possible and use it to help people. When I was summoned here I was very excited, it was finally time to do it, but now that we're in risk..."- Sakurai made some gestures with his hands –"...well, I'm afraid I won't ever have the chance"-

-"Don't worry, Sakurai-kun, it'll all go okay"- Akane said, trying to cheer him up.

-"Hopefully. I regret not asking Matsukaze some tips about how to investigate. I did learn some stuff when I worked with him on Saitou-kun's death, but if I get something wrong an innocent person will die...and that freaks me out. I feel afraid of trying again"-

Akane wasn't sure what to say. He had mentioned that in his first try he tended to make a mistake, and it was accusing Akane of being Saitou's murderer. Wouldn't that mean he'd be a great investigator now? He must have learned his mistakes already, so he'll be able to be of great help. After organizing her thoughts, that was what she told him. Sakurai was thankful of Akane's support, especially in such a fearful moment in his life.

-"Thank you, Ogata-san. I promise that if a murder happens, I'll investigate and bring the killer to justice"-

-"Yes, that's good!"- Akane wanted to ask 'and what if you're the victim?', but she didn't want to ruin Sakurai's good mood.

Besides, Sakurai had been the SHSL Good Luck. His luck should protect him, right? He'd survive to the end.

_Sakurai made me tell him how I investigate._

** Ginchiyo, ex-SHSL Filmmaker **

**Number of Unused Free Times: Two**

Ginchiyo was in the Recreation Room, browsing through the box of movies. She was talking to herself, saying what she remembered about the movies she had watched already, and what she thought about those she hadn't watched yet. Akane approached, attracting Ginchiyo's attention. –"Ogata-san, hey there"-

Akane took the chance to ask something she had been wondering for a while. –"Ginchiyo-san, why are you called 'the best student Hope's Peak ever had'? Did you get amazing grades?"-

Ginchiyo seemed annoyed. –"My grades were average. I did nothing amazing in Hope's Peak, but I know very well why they gave me that title"- she took out a few movie cases –"Greed. During my stay in Hope's Peak, I directed a few short movies and a couple long ones. They gave me a lot of free time so I could do that, and they even forgave a few failed tests"-

-"So the only reason you have that title is because..."- Akane was starting to understand.

-"As their student, I was forced to sign a weaver stating that Hope's Peak had the rights to half of the money I earned with my work. It was outrageous. And each one of my movies was a resounding success, so they got a lot of cash. The only thing I got in return was a title that doesn't even fit me"-

Ginchiyo was clearly bitter about the whole ordeal. Akane regretted having brought the topic, but Ginchiyo waved her hand, dispelling the awkward atmosphere. –"I found a few movies I want to watch. Do you want to join me?"- Akane accepted, so Ginchiyo set up the DVD player in the room and the TV.

_Ginchiyo and I watched movies_

-ooooo-

Akane was passing towards her room when she heard some sobs coming from an opened door. Slowly, she approached, trying to hear better. Indeed, it was somebody crying. She quickly checked her ID to see who owned that room. It was Ginchiyo's room.

Akane knocked on the door, interrupting the sobs. She didn't enter, instead waited outside. If Ginchiyo decided to let her in...then what? What would she say? Better to be honest and say she was worried for her.

The Chemist supposed that Ginchiyo was crying for her sister, Shizuka. That seemed to be a very delicate topic for her. A single mention of her missing sister and she'd turn hysterical. Ginchiyo opened the door, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. –"Ogata-san, what do you need?"-

-"Are you okay, Ginchiyo-san?"-

Ginchiyo nodded, it wasn't very convincing. Akane stood there, waiting for more, until the Filmmaker spoke more. –"I had an argument with Yamaguchi-san about this"- she lifted slightly the furry thing around her neck –"She said it was tacky and that I should take it off. It escalated from there"-

Akane was bemused. She had supposed it was something more...concerning than that. Just in case, she decided to check. –"Is that...object important to you? What is it, by the way?"-

-"It's a poncho"-

_There's no way that is a poncho_

-"And Shizuka gave it to me a few days before the letter from Hope's Peak arrived. It was the last gift I got from her before she...ran away..."- she started sobbing again. Akane was starting to be annoyed. It was true that Shizuka was a delicate topic for her and that there must have been a pretty big reason for it to be such a big deal, but it was ridiculous for Ginchiyo to behave like that. The Chemist grabbed Ginchiyo's shaking shoulders, gripping her tightly.

-"Listen to me, Ginchiyo-san! I don't know what happened or why you're so affected by it, but this clearly can't continue! You can't let this bring you down for the rest of your life. Get a hold of yourself"-

-"Ogata-san..."- Ginchiyo started, but Akane interrupted her.

-"No, stop there! Look, I'm sure there's a reason you feel so bad about your sister but do you think it's correct to break down every time she gets mentioned like this? Something must be done about this matter"-

Ginchiyo looked away. She knew that Akane was right, that she had let it be a burden for way too long. Ginchiyo laid on her bed in silence. Akane, fearing she went too far, started going away, but Ginchiyo stopped here. –"Ogata-san, thank you for the...wake-up call"-

-"What happened to your sister?"-

-"...That's something I intend to take with me to the grave. But you're right...I have been carrying this burden for too long already. I shouldn't let it affect me so much...it's hard to not to let it affect me"-

-"Try it. With some time, surely your pain will be less"-

Ginchiyo stood up, hesitant. Slowly, she took off the strange furry thing and put it on the bed. There was more silence, while Ginchiyo contemplated the poncho, and she finally smiled faintly. –"It really is tacky, isn't it?"-

Akane now knew that Ginchiyo would be capable of steeling herself against her own pain. Relieved, Akane giggled. –"Have you considered consulting a psychologist? That could help"-

-"Once I'm out of this shelter I'll search for one"- Ginchiyo guided Akane out of the bedroom, and closed the door –"Now I have to go apologize to Yamaguchi-san. I overreacted real badly..."- she started walking away, but before going too far she turned around. –"Thank you, Ogata-san. Really, thank you"- and then she went away. Akane stood there, feeling confident Ginchiyo was going to get better from now on.

** Reiji Ohmoto, ex-SHSL Law Master **

**Number of Unused Free Times: Two**

**Note: it's mandatory for all interactions to be with Yukio. Interactions with Akane will be unavailable.**

Reiji was sitting against the wall, still locked into the abandoned bathroom. Yukio entered alone. This time he hadn't gone with anybody. It was a risk, but Reiji was still his brother. He was willing to try it.

The SHSL Despair smiled emptily when he saw Yukio. –"Brother. What brings you here again?"-

-"I'm still wondering when exactly you had a chance to get in contact with Enoshima. She got into Hope's Peak long after our graduation; it isn't like you could meet her easily"-

Reiji leaned his head over his shoulders. –"You haven't guessed yet? You sure are hopeless"-

-"What did she do to you for you to join her group?"- Yukio tried his best to contain his vehemence. If he weren't restraining himself, he'd have grabbed Reiji by the collar of his suit.

-"Oh, nothing. We just talked...and that was all I needed. Meeting her was everything I needed to see how my life really was. I was blind before it"-

-"What the hell are you talking about?"- With each vague word, Yukio's frustration grew more. Reiji cackled gravely, and continued.

-"She showed me how you really felt about me. That's all I'm going to say. Those were your own feelings, so you should know"-

That replaced some of the frustration with confusion. –"I have no idea what you're talking about"-

-"You never have idea of anything, dear brother. Have I told you how much of an idiot you are? Because you need to be a moron to not to remember what's obvious. If you remembered, you wouldn't be here asking me these questions"- Reiji said coldly, sneering. Yukio gritted his teeth and left the bathroom. Going to visit Reiji was a mistake. Instead of progressing, all he managed to do was to fill with frustration. He was going to need some time to relax now.

-ooooo-

Reiji was murmuring when Yukio approached. The Assistant stopped to listen what it was, but couldn't differentiate the words. The most he could catch was something along the lines of the elasticity of plastic bags, which didn't seem to make any sense. It wasn't like he had any. –"Reiji?"-

Reiji looked up, noticing his brother. –"Yukio. What is it now?"-

-"I wanted to...well, apologize if I had something to do with your despair. I don't know what I possibly did, but it was never my intention to hurt you"- Yukio figured it was better to apologize. He didn't even believe it'd be significant or help Reiji in his actual status, but it was still worth trying. Reiji stared blankly for a while, without any expression. Yukio waited expectantly for any word that could indicate he had done something right.

-"I see. Anything else?"- Reiji said flatly. It was useless to try to reason with him. It was clear Reiji didn't care that Yukio was wrecked with the anxiety of trying to find out how exactly Reiji had got in contact with Enoshima. Reiji had been thinking with contempt about his brother, was he really so dense he didn't remember it?

Besides, what would happen after he found out? Would Yukio come crawling to the abandoned bathroom to apologize or to cry or something? Surely after he found out his misdeed, he'd fall in despair. The mere thought of Yukio in such state was something beautiful to Reiji. Why not to hurry up the process? Reiji was about to give Yukio the clues he needed, but then he got a better idea.

Why not...after one of them died? Just before Yukio's death when Reiji finally was successful killing somebody, or after Reiji's death, when it's too late to apologize? Surely Yukio's despair would be deeper in a moment like that. Reiji regretted not having told his brother after the third trial.

-"Yukio. In my bedroom you'll find a diary. You'll find your answers there"- he finally said. Yukio's eyes brightened when he heard he could possible find the answers.

-"But how can I enter your bedroom? I'd need your ID"-

-"Oh, you'll have it...after I die. I won't be giving it to you as long as I'm alive"- Reiji started laughing while Yukio's face first contorted in astonishment, then in a frown that obviously concealed his disappointment. The Assistant left the bathroom, clenching his fists. Reiji watched him go, still laughing.

He couldn't wait for the revelation to come, and what Yukio's reaction would be. While he wouldn't be able to see it, at least he expected him to be…a bit shocked.

** Chihiro Toriumi, ex-SHSL Private Tutor **

**Number of unused free times: Two**

Toriumi was in the library, browsing through the extensive catalogue of literature. Once she found a book she liked, she went to the entrance, and found Akane there. –"Ogata, hello"-

-"Toriumi-san! There you are, I wanted to speak to you about something…"-

-"Does it have to be now? I'd like to go to my bedroom and relax"- Toriumi said with a tone that showed she didn't have any time for silliness. Akane decided to go straight to the point before she lost her patience.

-"Have you found anything suspicious or clues about the Mastermind?"-

Toriumi glared at her. –"No. Now, if you excuse me…"- She tried to leave, but Akane stepped in her way.

-"I can't believe that after all this time you haven't found anything!"-

-"I found some clues, but none of them was meaningful. You don't need to hear them"-

-"But I haven't found anything…and I don't know where to start. If you could tell me what you have found…"- Toriumi raised her hand, interrupting Akane.

-"If I give you a few pointers, will you leave me alone and continue doing the effort to find the clues?"- Akane nodded. Toriumi sighed tiredly and indicated Akane to sit.

-"Thank you, Toriumi-san. This is just what I needed"-

-"I'm not going to give you any information I have found so far. You'll have to find your own. A tutor isn't somebody who gives answers. It's somebody who gives others the tools needed to reach those answers"-

-"Is that so?"-

-"Yes, that's my philosophy. It's what let me be the best tutor around"- Toriumi was calmer now –"I was educated to believe in the benefits of working hard. Sure, I'm a tutor, but what I do is to show my mentees the way. It's up to them to be successful or not"-

-"But you wouldn't be here if they weren't successful"- Akane pointed. Toriumi smiled pleasantly, and took off her glasses.

-"I pride myself on my students. All of them has taken my lessons to heart, and got to the point where I can trust them to continue ahead without my help. They're the meaning of my life. I hope you'll make me proud too, Ogata. You did well in school in the field of literature after my tutoring, so you already know how I work"-

-"Thank you, I suppose"-

-"But…if I find something you should know, I'll tell you, okay? We're together in this, as partners and friends"- she suddenly said with a kinder tone. Then, as if she were trying to conceal the moment of softness, she talked more forcefully –"Sit up straight and listen, because what I'll teach you shall be repeated only once.

_Toriumi gave me some lessons on searching for clues_

-ooooo-

Akane entered the garden and found Toriumi leaning over the fencing. –"Toriumi-san, hey there"-

-"Ogata"- Toriumi greeted.

-"I should have asked you when we met in the conference room…how has been your life since the disaster struck? I have lost contact with all my friends, so it's strange to finally talk to somebody I knew from my school life"-

-"Hmmmm…well, there's not much to tell. I struggled to survive. I also learned the hard way to shoot a gun"-

-"The hard way?"-

-"Yeah. Ever had somebody trying to kill you over canned food? Because it happened to me more than once. One needs those abilities in a world like this"- she said, matter-of-factly –"I had brought my gun, but when I woke up I didn't have it anymore"-

-"Where did you get a gun, in the first place?"-

-"My fiancé got it for me, apparently from a friend he had. I wasn't happy at first, but he's right. We needed to protect ourselves"-

-"Wait, fiancé? Are you…"- Akane looked at Toriumi's hands, looking for a ring. When she saw no ring, she looked inquisitively at Toriumi. The Tutor smiled warmly, and took it from under her sweater.

-"You can't go around showing such a shiny little trinket in times like this, can you?"- Akane had never seen her so happy. While her words didn't seem different from the usual, her expression had an expression of bliss she never thought Toriumi would ever have –"His name is Kumakichi, and he's the most wonderful man I ever met. When the world is back to normal, we'll marry"-

-"Congratulations!"- Akane said. Toriumi put the ring away and returned to her normal serious demeanor, but it seemed like she was more pessimist now.

-"But at this rate it won't happen. Look at ourselves. We're trapped in this shelter and we have made no progress on getting out. People better stop sitting around with their thumbs up their asses and start investigating, or else I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands"-

-"You make it sound so ominous"- Akane didn't doubt Toriumi would be capable of killing, but she hoped her friend would be able to restrain herself. The last thing she wanted was to have to catch her. Would she even be able to do that?

-"I haven't killed anybody merely out of respect to you, Ogata-san. I don't want to doom you to a death, but the moment you're dead, I won't have any regrets on killing"- Akane gestured to lower her voice. It wasn't something easy to explain if somebody passed near and heard her plotting their demise. Toriumi rolled her eyes –"And as long as you're alive, I promise I'll find out who the Mastermind is. I'll get both of us out of here"-

-"I'd rather everybody to get out of here. They're not bad people"-

-"Yeah, they're not bad people, but they're not my friends either. In these days, trusting the wrong person will lead to dying. You're the only one I can trust. I'm completely sure you wouldn't have the guts to do a mutual killing game"- Akane wasn't sure if she was flattered or not, but decided to leave it aside. The tutor went to the stairs leading back into the second section, and called to Akane –"Want to drink something? There must be coffee in the cafeteria. Then you'll have to tell me everything about what you have done since your graduation. I won't accept a 'no' for an answer"-

_Toriumi and I chatted in the cafeteria for a good while_

** Tomoe Chiba, ex-SHSL Strategist **

**Number of unused free times: Two**

-"Ogata-san, we need to have an emergency meeting. As the co-leaders of this place, we must ensure an efficient communications system"-

Chiba didn't even say hello when Akane opened the door. The Chemist stood there, dumbfounded, until she had processed what Chiba had said. –"Um, okay. What do you have in mind?"-

-"Not much. We simply need to keep everybody calm and talking to each other. Rumors and misunderstandings could prove to be fatal in this place. It's a simple cautionary measure"-

-"Nice. And how are we going to do that?"-

Chiba shrugged. -"That's what I'm here for, to ask you. Do you have an idea, by any chance?"- The Strategist waited, but when it was clear Akane didn't have any idea, her mood dampened. –"Oh. Well, that's a shame. Chalk one failure more to my efforts"-

-"Don't be so harsh on yourself. It's not that bad or urgent"-

-"No, you don't understand. I'm under a lot of pressure right now, Ogata-san. I have all these people under my care. Since I was in the army, and later in the police force, I have felt responsible for each one of my subordinates. That's just how I am"-

-"But we all understand how hard this may be for you. You don't need to blame yourself"- Akane kept trying to reassure Chiba, but she didn't accept any of those words.

-"Look, I'm the leader here. It's my responsibility to lead as many people as possible to our goal: getting out of here. And if I can't set a simple thing like a communication protocol, then how can one expect me to find a way for us to escape? It's a blow to my pride"-

-"It's just matter of time, we'll think of something"-

-"We better think of something. The more time we spend here, the worse. Have you investigated? Found anything to share?"- Chiba inquired. Akane replied that there was nothing for her to report, Chiba took it stoically. –"I see. Keep working. And Ogata-san...if there's something I can do to help, don't be afraid to tell me. I promise to do everything I can to ensure these people's safety"- Chiba said farewell and left. It had been a quick meeting but to Akane it felt like it had taken even less time, maybe because Chiba was in such anxious state that everything she did seemed like a blur. Unsure of how she felt, Akane closed the door.

-ooooo-

Chiba was in the storage, rummaging through the many boxes. When Akane entered, she looked up, and greeted her with energy. –"Ogata-san, just in time. Help me here"-

-"What are you doing?"- Akane approached and helped Chiba take out most of the content in the boxes. Chiba had laid out several large square cloths on the floor, and put several different objects in each one.

-"We'll be getting out of here in no time. I'm sure of it"- Chiba tied the corners of the cloth until she formed a pouch, and passed them to Akane –"For when the time comes. There isn't any food in there, but we better take advantage of the stuff in here. We may not find any of these in the outside world"-

-"So did you find a way out?"- Akane asked, hopeful.

-"It's less of a way out and more like...a certainty. I'm certain we'll catch the Mastermind and escape. This is just me being several steps ahead"-

Akane's hope kinda deflated, but still helped Chiba to assemble the pouches. Once they were done, Chiba took them and walked to the door of the storage. –"Thank you, Ogata-san"- Before she got out, she stopped and after thinking it for a moment, returned. –"Hey, um...I was thinking..."-

-"Yes?"-

-"Would you like to come with me once we're out of here? I think that you'd be a good person to live with...while the world out is despairing. We could be a team"- Chiba was strangely nervous. Akane wasn't sure what it meant, but shrugged.

-"Sure, why not? It could be good. Got a plan in mind?"-

-"It's not much...You and me living in an abandoned army outpost. We could gather a group and defend ourselves. The possibilities are endless"- Chiba talked about the different adventures surviving they could have, and about the super team they, as well as other people they could meet, would form. It was strange to see Chiba drawling on and on like a child, with the same infantile enthusiasm of one. But Akane could feel there was something else behind it, and she wasn't sure what it was.

-"Chiba-san, are you sure you want me to come? Why did you choose me?"-

-"Eheh…yeah, you're a great pick. We would be a great team"- Then she blushed slightly –"And…I'd like to spend more time with you, meet you better…in a place that isn't this shelter…do you understand?"-

Akane noticed the blush, and considered to dig deeper, but chose to not to invade Chiba's thoughts. Whatever they were, it wasn't really the moment to force her to talk about it. It could wait. –"Okay, I accept. We'll part together after we're done in this place"- Akane replied. Chiba would be a great partner, with her help; she could have a more bearable life out there. Chiba jumped in joy, and after giving some rushed thans to Akane, she locked herself in her bedroom. Still baffled, Akane went away.

** Takeshi Toyogushi, ex-SHSL Stuntsman **

**Number of Unused Free Times: Two**

Toyogushi was taking a nap in the Conference Room. Akane was merely wandering around when she encountered the Stuntsman, asleep in such a strange place. For a moment she considered leaving him alone, but then she remembered the actual mood of the residents of the shelter. Being unprotected like this wasn't a good idea, so she decided to wake him up.

Grabbing his shoulder, she shook him gently, until Toyogushi opened his eyes. He yawned and stood up, until he focused on Akane. –"What do you need?"-

-"You shouldn't sleep in here. It isn't safe"- Akane went directly to the point. Toyogushi stretched and jumped a bit, trying to ward off any sleepiness.

-"I'm used to be always moving. When I stay inactive for too long I start to doze…and there's not much to do in this place"-

-"You could get attacked if you keep falling asleep anywhere"- she admonished him. Toyogushi grunted, with an odd expression in his face.

-"You sounded exactly like my wife, you know"-

-"Wife? Are you married?"-

-"Married and with a son"- he said proudly. Akane couldn't believe it. The truth is that she had never stopped to consider the possibility that any of the people trapped in the shelter was married, or even had children. She had blocked those thoughts from her mind, maybe because it was too depressing to think that there'd be all those widowers and orphans out there if any of them died. Now she felt some pity for Toyogushi's wife and kid, and hoped nothing would happen to the Stuntsman. –"Here, I got a photo of them"- Toyogushi took from his wallet a small photo and passed it to Akane. A woman and a toddler were sitting on a bench in a park, smiling to the camera. The boy didn't seem to have more than two years old, and he was the spitting image of his father. The mother was average, but had such a gentleness in her expression it was hard to not to feel mellowed out by her.

-"Nice family. Is he with his mother right now?"-

Toyogushi stared to the ground. –"She was killed by rioters some months ago"- he mumbled.

-"Oh"- Akane gave back the photograph, feeling guilty for mentioning the wife –"Sorry to hear that…"-

-"It's okay. My kid is with my best friend. They should be okay until I get out of here"- Toyogushi put away the photo –"But you did sound like her. Are you by chance channeling her? I thought Sawashiro-san was the medium"- he tried to joke, smiling awkwardly. It was obvious he was trying to ward off some bad thoughts, as his expression was anything but mirthful.

-"Can I ask…what happened? Why she was killed?"-

Toyogushi breathe deeply, indecisive. Akane wasn't exactly a close person to him, and he had said too much already. His wife's death and the circumstances behind it were something he'd rather to forget. –"I have to go. See you later"- he said somewhat coldly, and left in a hurry. Akane regretted having brought up his wife, and chastised herself for insensibly asking how she had died.

After that, Toyogushi seemed to avoid staying with Akane alone with her.

-ooooo-

Somebody knocked the door. Akane opened it, and found Toyogushi clutching a bottle of whisky. Akane wrinkled her noise, displeased. –"Yes?"-

-"Ogata-san? I…I'd like to confess to you something. You already know about it, since you…had the motive letter from Monobear…and I don't want you to have the wrong impression of this"- he wasn't drunk. It was more like 'tipsy', but it had been enough alcohol to lower his inhibitions. Akane opened the door more, letting him in. Toyogushi stood around awkwardly until Akane told him to sit on the bed. Sitting on the chair of the desk, Akane asked him what he wanted to say. She really had been curious what had happened to Toyogushi's wife, and why he had left her die.

Toyogushi left the bottle on Akane's bed, and messed his hair. –"So…I have a son, you know that already"- Akane nodded. Toyogushi spoke of something that seemed unrelated to his son. –"You did sound like my wife the other day…because I did tend to doze off when I had to keep an eye on the streets at night and in other moments. I knew I had to stay awake, but I was already conditioned to fall asleep if I wasn't active.

One night, I once again fell asleep and when I woke up, I found a few rioters in the room. They had grabbed my son and my wife as hostages, and were about to slit my throat when I awoke. I bolted and managed to defend myself while the rioters ransacked the place, taking everything we had.

When they were done, they claimed they were going to inflict despair on me, and…they gave me a choice: either my wife or my son was going to die, and I was going to choose which one was going to live."-

Akane had heard deals like those in movies and the such, but hearing it happen to somebody she knew, and in real life, was astonishing. She stayed silent while Toyogushi took a sip of the whisky, and continued. –"My mind was blank. I had no idea what to say, I just…stared at them as if I expected them to burst into laughs and say they were joking. But when they pressed knives on their necks I knew they were serious. My son could only cry, and my wife started shouting. 'What are you waiting for? Tell them to kill me. I won't forgive you if they kill him!"-

Akane patted his shoulder sympathetically. The Stuntsman sighed. –"I expected them to kill both after giving me the hope of seeing one of them being alive, but she…she made me say it. So I told them to leave my child alive….and to kill her Much to my surprise, they pushed him onto the ground and kicked him but they didn't kill him. Then she had her neck slit. I don't remember what the rioters did after that, if they left or something. All I knew is that I was cradling her, and then she...she made me promise I'd take care of my son. He was crying all the time, clinging to her…"- Toyogushi started crying silently, hunched over. Akane was crying as well, imagining the scene. It must have been the worst moment in Toyogushi's life. The two graduates stayed in silence, letting the tears fall. Once Toyogushi stopped, Akane mumbled something.

-"They don't sound like true followers of Enoshima. Killing them both would have inflicted more despair"- she said before she could stop herself. It was insensitive, so she tried to backpedal, but Toyogushi nodded.

-"I thought the same, but it doesn't really matter. They killed her. You have no idea what my kid says. How often he says he wanted his mom to be alive again. He's just six, Ogata-san. He was way too young and innocent to see his mother being killed in front of him"-

-"At least he has you. You can raise him the bet you can in this world"-

Toyogushi nodded once again, grimly. He stood up, and grabbed Akane's hand. –"I just wanted to tell you that. Please don't think badly of me…I did let my wife die, but there really was no choice. I couldn't do anything…"- and with that, he left. Akane laid on the bed and looked at the ceiling, wondering if Toyogushi's son was okay. It was nice to finally know what was Toyogushi's secret, and she felt somewhat closer to him now, but that didn't mean it wasn't a sad situation for him and his son. She could only hope that when they got out of the shelter, their lives would improve.

** Saburou Hikasa, ex-SHSL Weightlifter **

**Number of unused free times: One**

Hikasa was in the storage, lifting boxes randomly. –"What are you doing?"- Akane asked after having watched him do it a few times.

-"Just a little training. These boxes seemed heavy enough"-

-"There's a gym in this place"- Akane reminded him. Hikasa glared at her, as if she were insulting his intelligence.

-"There are only dumbbells in there. Children's toys, basically. I needed something heavier"- and with that, he continued lifting the box over and over.

-"Don't strain yourself. We'll need all the energy possible, and when there's no more food…you better not spend any energy doing this"- Akane admonished him. Hikasa let the box fall with a loud sound, and put the hands on his hips.

-"If I'm not strong I won't be able to help anybody. I'll be useless. Look, I already feel out of place in the trials, I have never been good in intellectual exercises. The only way I can help is physically"-

-"No, it isn't! There are other ways to help. Have you found anything about the Mastermind yet?"-

-"I already said I'm not good with these intellectual exercises. Now if you excuse me"- Hikasa walked past Akane, annoyed. The Chemist stammered.

-"Wh-Where are you going?"-

-"I'm going to find some answers. There must be something in this shelter that needs strength. I can't be useless"-

-"You don't need to show off strength to feel useful. Come on, there are other ways that aren't investigating!"- Hikasa asked her what ideas she had. –"Well, you could…support us. Be supportive and always be ready to listen and talk"-

-"And how will that be useful? We won't get anywhere by talking"-

-"You have no idea of how good a few words and time can do. Have you even done the effort?"-

-"I spent time with Ginchiyo-chan, more than you, by the way"- he spat, hostile. Akane gritted her teeth.

-"Ginchiyo-san wasn't the only person in this place. You need to look around you and see that being useful isn't a matter of strength! Come on, stop that and come with us. We'll deal with everything else later. Just come and talk"-

Hikasa rubbed his eyes tiredly. Exasperated, he replied. –"Alright. But I'm not a good talker, or listener, or anything. I'm not good at anything that isn't being strong"-

-"Well, just like weightlifting, you'll only improve if you practice, won't you? So leave that and come talk to us. You're not useless, but you'll be if you refuse to broaden your mind and finally accept that being strong isn't enough"-

Hikasa glared at her before surrendering. –"I said I'd do it. Take me there"- it was obvious he was doing it just to shut Akane up, not because he really wanted to. Akane hoped that after that time, he'd accept that life in the shelter wasn't merely a matter of being strong.

It was also a matter of partnership.

_Hikasa and I spoke with several other graduates._

** Mika Yamaguchi, ex-SHSL Fashion Designer **

**Number of Unused Free Times: Two**

Yamaguchi was in the garden, watching the plants. They were common plants, nothing special or even pretty, but she still seemed relaxed. When she noticed Akane's presence she smiled complacently. –"Hey there"-

-"Yamaguchi-san, everything okay?"-

-"Everything is better than you think"- that was her placid answer. Akane smiled, relieved. When she found Yamaguchi there, alone, she had feared something was bothering her, but now she knew her fears were unfounded. The Chemist approached and looked at the plants. The Fashion Designer cleared her throat. –"Ogata-san, are you sure that everybody here knows about me and my time with Enoshima?"-

-"They do. Have anybody said anything to you about that?"-

-"Nothing. In fact, they have treated me…very well! I thought they'd ostracize me or shout at me or…"-

-"I told you it wasn't going to be a problem"-

-"Yes, you were right. It makes me happy"-

-"How did you meet with Enoshina, by the way? Do you want to tell me?"-

Yamaguchi passed the hand through her hair. –"Some time had passed after my graduation, and Enoshima had already started her career as a model. She had already appeared in several magazines and, well...I felt attracted to her"-

-"Attracted as in romantically?"-

-"What? No!"- Yamaguchi replied, surprised –"I was attracted in a creative way. Enoshima had presence, something that made her stand out, and I felt that if I associated with her, my career and hers could advance even more. That was how I met her, merely as a job relationship"-

-"And how did that change to a friendship or...whatever you two had?"-

-"I did think Enoshima and I were friends. She and I often brainstormed different ideas for outfits and dresses, and I have to admit she helped me tap into hidden potentials I didn't even know I have"-

-"Did she ever try anything related to despair on you?"- That was the main question Akane had wanted to ask. The corners of Yamaguchi's mouth dropped, as if she were reliving a moment she preferred to forget.

-"...Now I know she did try. She asked me or said stuff that always made me feel...disgraced. Like I wasn't good for anything. I always told myself that it wasn't intentional, that Enoshima simply didn't know to watch her words. I told her to be careful and then she'd be all smiles and would apologize"- Yamaguchi must have felt Akane was holding her in contempt, as she quickly added –"Don't think I could have known a thing! She was so young! Barely fifteen years old! How was I supposed to know she was probing to find my weak points?"-

-"I wasn't insinuating anything"- Akane defended herself.

-"After she caused all those riots and the group suicide I felt...I felt like an idiot. I knew in that moment that it was possible Enoshima was testing her charisma on me. Seeing how far her abilities went, how much she could manipulate people. And she was successful, I always fell for her words, I always reacted"- she grasped the sleeves of her coat –"Maybe if I had been a bit stronger she wouldn't have cultivated those abilities...?"-

-"Don't blame yourself. She'd have done it with some other person if you hadn't been her test subject"-

-"I know, I know. It's that I thought...we really were friends. Do you know how I felt when she was revealed as the mastermind behind the end of the world? I felt like a moron. And...I confess I almost fell into despair in that moment"-

-"Oh?"-

-"I regretted everything in my life. I regretted ever deciding to contact Enoshima, or picking up magazines, or studying, or going to Hope's Peak, or having an interest on fashion, or being able to draw, and even...I regretted being born. I felt so stupid I wanted earth to open up and swallow me. I had never felt such a deep betrayal..."- Yamaguchi's tone had grown strangled. Despite having apparently left Enoshima behind, the memories were painful for her. She laughed nervously –"I'm sorry. This must be a mess. Please don't pay attention to me"-

-"No, it's good to vent. At least you managed to keep a hold on yourself and not despair"- Akane said gently.

-"Sometimes I wonder if she had pretended to be my friend so when I saw who she really was I turned to her side"-

-"I wouldn't put it past her"- Akane shrugged –"But there isn't much sense on thinking about this. The past is the best, let's forget it"-

Yamaguchi nodded –"I'll try. See you later"- Yamaguchi left, clutching her jacket. She was thoughtful, so it was posible Akane's words did give her something to reflect about. Now it was matter of accepting the past and moving on.

-ooooo-

Somebody knocked on Akane's door. When she opened it, she saw Yamaguchi, but she was changed. In her hands there was the red aviator coat she normally wore, and her outfit was one Akane knew well. It was almost exactly like the one Enoshima had in the broadcasts. It really flattered her, Yamaguchi's black hair and skin tone combined nicely with the outfit.

-"Ogata-san, am I bothering you?"- After confirming Akane hadn't been doing anything important, she passed the Chemist the coat –"I want you to have this"-

-"Uh? But it is yours…"-

-"It's my way to say thank you. You have me a lot to think about, and I concluded that…you have been right. I shouldn't be afraid of what people will think about me. Nobody here has given me a hard time, and what Enoshima did…it's about time I stopped letting it follow everywhere, right? So please tale this"-

Akane reluctantly took the red coat. –"Um, thank you…"-

-"I used to hide behind that coat, trying to hide my relation with Enoshima. When I came to this shelter I knew I had to let the people in charge know about this, but then Monobear happened and…I only wanted to reveal this after I had talked to the Future Foundation. Otherwise I feared I'd get kicked out of here and lose my chance to make the world a better place"-

Akane nodded, turning the coat around in her hands. It was definitely something you wouldn't find in a bargain bin. Who knows how much Yamaguchi had paid for it. Or maybe she made it herself? -"Yes, thank you. I'll accept it"-

-"Put it on! Come on, take that lab coat off and try it. You have a nice figure, this should help accentuate it. Lab coats and turtleneck sweaters aren't what you should be wearing"-

-"I'm used to these clothes, and it's always cold in the laboratories"-

-"But we're not in a laboratory. I won't leave until you try that on"- Yamaguchi said cheerily. Akane took off her lab coat and put on Yamaguchi's gift. It felt amazing, it was clear it was of great quality. Yamaguchi made Akane spin slowly, uttering admiring words and praises to Akane –"You should have got one of these before. You look superb!"-

-"I don't think it goes with my hair tone…"-

-"You're right, it doesn't. But it goes with your eyes. If you did something with your hair color, like dyeing it, you'd look perfect. But yes, thank you for everything, Ogata-san. We have known each other for so little time yet I already owe you so much. If you ever need anything, please tell me. I'll help you gladly"- and with that Yamaguchi left. Akane watched her go, fingering the leather of the coat. Yamaguchi seemed much happier now, more authentic. Before that it was true she was a nice and relatively cheerful person, but it always had a tinge of fakeness. Now that sensation had stopped.

** Kaiji Kudo, ex–SHSL Philanthropist  **

**Number of Unused Free Times: Two**

Akane glanced into the Lounge, thinking she had seen something. It was just Kudo, pacing from one side to other of the room. He seemed bothered, like he had a problem that needed to be solved quickly. –"Is everything okay?"- Akane asked from the entrance. Kudo looked at her and nodded, stopping.

-"Yeah, yeah, I'm just thinking"-

-"What is it? Need to talk?"-

Kudo shrugged. –"If you want to listen…"- Kudo and Akane sat on one of the couches. The Philanthropist put his hands on his knees and sighed –"I feel I'm not taken seriously in this place"-

-"What do you mean?"-

-"I mean that I feel nobody here is seeing me as a person. Maybe they see me more like an annoyance, like that idiot Saitou-kun. Am I as annoying as him when I try to help? Do I sound like when he goes around praising people endlessly?"-

-"No, you don't"- Akane said with honesty. It was true Kudo could be somewhat overbearing, but it wasn't like Saitou.

-"That's a relief. But I'm not used to having my help rejected, you know. Normally where there's somebody needing help they take it without a second thought. And everybody here needs help! But all of them refuse to let me do anything"-

-"Could it be that they don't trust you?"- Akane suggested.

Kudo raised his eyebrows –"Am I not perfectly trustable?"-

-"They met you recently. It's possible they don't trust you yet"-

Kudo looked down, meditating. –"Maybe you're right. How can I make them trust me?"-

-"Give them time. When they see you're reliable, they'll let you help them"- Despite Akane's suggestion, Kudo's furrowed brow was still there. The Chemist had a feeling there was something else going on –"Why are you in such a hurry? Oh, I remember. You have that strange condition that only happens when you help somebody"-

-"The…? Oh, yes. That. I do"-

-"And you want your next fix. It has been long since last time and you're starving for it. Is that the problem here?"-

-"Yes, that is all. I'll go see if I can get them to trust me, okay?"- Kudo said forcefully, standing up. Akane narrowed her eyes, there was something going on. Before Kudo got away, she grabbed his wrist and chose her words carefully.

-"The first step to have somebody's trust is to be sincere. If you're not honest or you have an ulterior motive, it won't work. Is there something you'd like to say now?"-

Kudo stared at her for a few seconds before managing to get away of Akane. He had no expression, so Akane had no idea what he was thinking now. All she hoped was that if he was hiding something, sooner or later he'd be honest and reveal it.

_I waited for Kudo. He didn't come back to the lounge._

-ooooo-

Akane was busy, browsing several books in the library, when she felt somebody touching her shoulder. Startled, she turned around with a book ready to hit somebody's head. It was Kudo, and it didn't seem like he was there to kill her. Still with her guard up, she greeted him.

-"Why does it seem like you're going to hit me with that?"- Kudo asked, looking at the book. Akane giggled nervously, not knowing what to do or say. –"You don't trust me either, eh? Just like the others"-

-"You startled me, that is all. Look, I'm putting it here"- Akane put the book back on the shelf, but Kudo wasn't satisfied with that.

-"That isn't it, eh? I can see you don't trust me"-

-"How can I trust you? Since the last time we talked, I feel like you're hiding something. It's okay if you don't tell me, but…"- Akane was curious, but at the same time she tried to respect Kudo's privacy. Still, if it was something not that private then… -"…to be trusted, first you need to be honest and trust others as well. Have you been honest with people?"-

It took a moment before Kudo answered. –"No"-

-"Is it something you don't want people to know?"- Kudo nodded. –"Then I suppose it's okay if you don't tell. I won't force you to say anything"- she took the book again and got ready to leave, but Kudo grabbed her shoulder again, stopping her. Before she could ask what was going on, he spoke.

-"I don't have a strange condition"-

-"Thought so"- she had believed it until the time in the Lounge. It sounded similar to Enoshima's despair love, who says Kudo couldn't have something like that? But now he had confirmed it had been a lie.

-"Yes. I thought it was better to say that than the truth"- he said gravely. Akane waited for him to continue, but he didn't say another word. Worried, she prompted him, asking what he meant. Kudo bared his teeth and grabbed a handful of his hair, gathering strength to confess. –"I'm not a good person. I'm a Philanthropist but I'm not a good person. I never did anything out of goodness"-

-"Oh? This doesn't mean you're not a good person. But then why did you get in the helping business?"-

-"Because I wanted to make people owe me. Make them depend on me"-

It certainly wasn't a nice truth. Kudo continued –"Since I was a kid I was never taken seriously. I was relatively popular, but I felt…I felt I was forgettable, that if I went away nobody would notice. So I started doing favors to people. Favors so they at least would remember what I did for them.

After some time that changed, and I started helping so they'd feel I was indispensable. Somebody they couldn't ever leave aside, I wanted to make them know that it was me who let them be who they were now. I got into bigger projects each time, getting in touch with more people, until…I got recognized as a Philanthropist.

I still get gifts and checks from grateful people, and that was once another incentive. I continued for greed, expecting them to give me stuff. I never said it bluntly to them, or even insinuated, but I always expected it. When they didn't…I wanted to destroy what I had done. I never dared, but I really wanted to.

I'm not a good person"-

Akane didn't say anything. It was indeed something that destroyed the image she had of him, but it wasn't as bad as he made it sound. Sure, it was nasty to think that every single good thing he had done was never out of goodness, and that it was very likely his overly-helpful behavior in the shelter was a way to protect himself by appearing as somebody they couldn't afford to kill, but that didn't change that he had done a lot of good. Sincere or not, his work was real.

-"Do you intend to change that?"- Akane asked. Kudo sighed.

-"I can't say I do. I don't want to be left aside again"-

Akane chose her words carefully, trying to convey how she felt. –"Then it really may be for the better that people don't hear about how you really feel, but you also need to tone down all that…helpfulness. You need to restrain yourself more. If they need help, they'll come to you"-

-"Nobody, in all my life, has needed my help for anything. They only take it when I offer it"-

-"Then make sure they know they can rely on you. I'm not sure how to do that, but it'd be good to start by being their friend. That should be a good start. Remember we were here to change the world, and for that, we'd need each other. It's only matter of time before they ask you for help"-

Kudo thought for a moment, until he shrugged. –"I suppose that can be good enough"-

-"I won't tell anybody what you told me. Now go and start being their friend. Sooner or later they'll come to you when they do need their help"- she finished with a tone as gentle as possible. Kudo smiled slightly, and turned away. Before he left the library, she decided to fire a final comment –"And don't pretend to have that condition you had mentioned before! It's unrealistic"-

Kudo waved his hand, indicating he had heard it. Akane wasn't sure if he was going to accept what she had said, but she only hoped he'd at least try to start helping not to get people to be indebted with him.

** Ian Curtis/Masamune Toyotomi, ex-SHSL Artist/Prosthetic Makeup Artist **

**Number of Unused Free Times: Two**

**Note that these interactions are only available to Yukio Ohmoto**

Yukio heard somebody knocking the door, and opened it to find Curtis standing there, with notes in his hand. He left him in, and invited the Artist to sit. –"What do you need?"-

-"I need your help"- that's when Yukio noticed he had what seemed like a small tub of paint.

-"Need me to model for you for a painting?"-

-"Something like that. I need you to stay still and let me plaster this onto your face"-

-"You need what?!"- Yukio wasn't sure he had heard it correctly.

-"To plaster this onto your face. It's for my work. Don't worry, it's just paint"-

-"You're not going to use my face as a canvas"- Yukio said flatly. Curtis grinned nervously.

-"Oh, come on! I'm not going to do that! Don't blow me off before you hear what I'm going to do"-

But Curtis never said what he was going to do. Instead, he continued begging Yukio to let him apply that paint to his face, while the Assistant refused over and over. Finally, just to get him out, he accepted with the condition it was quick. Curtis clapped excitedly. –"It won't take more than fifteen minutes, you'll see. This'll be fun"-

 _Fun for you._ –"What do you need me to do?"-

-"Get comfortable because you'll need to stay still for a while, specially your face. The slightest movement could deform the paint"-

Yukio took off his suit jacket, in case the paint would drip, and lay on the bed. When Curtis took off the lid of the tub, a pleasant odor filled the bedroom, much different to the smell of paint. Wondering what was going on, Yukio asked. –"That isn't paint, is it? It doesn't smell like paint...and it doesn't look like paint"- Curtis had taken a bit of the goop with his fingers. It seemed elastic.

-"Don't worry. It's my work material"- Somewhat uncomfortable, Yukio repressed any objections and let Curtis cover his face with the goop. It was like putting a cold rag all over his face, but it wasn't unpleasant. The Assistant relaxed, still not understanding what was going on. When Curtis was done, the Artist reminded him once again to stay still –"This is a base. It'll take the form, like a mold"-

Yukio wanted to ask why he needed a mold of his face, then remembered the very strange notes he had done before. This definitely wasn't for a painting. What was it then, a sculpture? Could Curtis sculpt?

Time passed slowly, with Curtis waiting patiently. After ten minutes Curtis carefully lifted the mold, until he held it in the air like a thin veil. Yukio couldn't see any shape in it, and the last thing he wanted to be told was that it was a waste of time. Curtis didn't seem bothered; he slowly opened the mold until Yukio could see the shapes of his face. –"It's done. Thank you Yukio-kun"-

-"Wait, aren't you going to tell me what that is for?"-

Curtis, before leaving, turned around and said –"It's mostly for practice. I must keep my abilities sharp. You'll see soon"- and he didn't say another word. Yukio stayed in bed, unsure of what was going on.

-ooooo-

Yukio knocked on Curtis' door. He had decided to finally ask what was up with those notes and the mold. Curtis opened almost instantly. His apron was splashed of more paint than usual, and he seemed rather happy. –"Yukio-kun! What can I do for you"-

-"I ask...no, I demand you tell me what you're doing with my face. I won't accept silence as an answer"-

Curtis wasn't upset Yukio had come so rudely to give him orders. Instead, he opened wide. –"Sure! It isn't dry yet, but you may pass and see. I was going to show it to you later, either way"-

Yukio entered, and Curtis pointed towards the desk. Resting on what seemed like a special board, was his face. Yukio felt a chill; it was identical, as if somebody had ripped it and placed it on the desk. –"What is that?"-

-"It's a mask. It was made to be exactly like your face"-

It even had the same tones and details. On a side there were two small discs, of the same color of his eyes. Mesmerized and creeped out, Yukio stepped back slowly. –"How nice. Why did you do that? That isn't art. What are you?"- He said as calmly as possible, but the words came out too fast. Curtis frowned, insulted.

-"It was to keep my abilities sharp. I'm an Artist"-

-"That isn't something an artist does!"-

-"It IS art. Not anybody can create something so perfect and exact. This is what I used to do to make a living!"-

-"You made masks?"-

-"Something like that. It's complicated"- he sounded apologetic, as if something weren't letting him say anything about his job. Yukio understood, and decided to leave him alone. If he didn't want to talk about that, then he wasn't going to force it. Maybe it was wrong to demand an answer.

-"I wish you had told me from the beginning you were going to make...that"-

-"I should have, I suppose"-

-"What will you do with it?"-

-"Give it to you"- that answer got Yukio by surprise –"As a thank you for your time. It was just to practice; you'll be its owner"-

-"Um, thank you"- It was still creepy, but he wasn't going to reject it. Yukio had no idea where he would put it. –"I'll treasure it"-

-"But not yet, it's still fresh. Come back tomorrow, and it'll be ready. Once again, thank you for everything"-

-"You're welcome. I'll be going now, uh, see you"- he said hurriedly, and once he was out of Curtis' room, he shuddered. That had been a strange experience, and definitely wasn't willing to try again.

At least he'd receive a token of this time, and had seen that maybe Curtis wasn't who he seemed to be. Whether it was significant was still to be seen. Was Curtis the Mastermind? He doubted it, but it was clear there was something hidden.


	49. Extras: Author's Thoughts

**Recognitions:**

Oh wow, the story is over. This really was a ride!

First than all, a heartfelt thank you to all the readers. To those who got to the end, and to those who clicked the first chapter and didn't go further than that. 8362 views isn't a big number to some people, but it's a number I had never expected to reach. I'm grateful that my story was appealing to a nice fraction of that number.

Special thank you to reviewer 'TotalCyborgPineappleIsland2', for the support received during at least half of the story's run, and to Archive of Our Own reviewer Craftsdwarf, for the amazing critiques received.

Also thank you to each user who reviewed, followed, gave kudos or marked the story as favorite. Another thank you to Arcade Tokens, for the creation of the story's TV Tropes page.

**General Thoughts:**

When I started the story I had a more or less clear idea of how it'd go, but it wasn't completely defined. I think that, during the first chapter, the story suffered because of it. I didn't have a hold of the characterization very well, so some traits disappeared even after just a mention.

However once I got the hang of the characters, it flowed easier and the quality improved, I think. The chapters also started being longer, which I think is curious.

I literally created one hundred different iterations. Most of them didn't go into detail, they merely outlined who survived, who was a culprit, who was the victim, and other details like that. The Mastermind's identity and plan was one of the things that changed frequently. After all, there were four different graduates who, at some point, got placed as Mastermind! More details about that in their individual sections.

Take a look at the very first scenario, born when the story was starting to be planned, and compare it to the chosen one, #79. It sure is different.

Scenario #1

Main character: Akane Ogata

Secondary main character: Aya Sawashiro

Survivors: Akane Ogata, Aya Sawashiro, Masashi Sakurai, Reiji Ohmoto, Tomoe Chiba, Saburou Hikasa

Mastermind: Kaiji Kudo

Case #1

Victim: Mika Yamaguchi

Culprit: Hoshio Saitou

Case #2:

Victim: Chihiro Toriumi

Culprit: Masaru Miyata

Case #3:

Victim: Takeshi Toyogushi

Culprit: Ginchiyo

Case #4:

Victim: Yukio Ohmoto

Culprit: Ian Curtis/Masamune Toyotomi

Case #5:

Victim: Mishio Matsukaze

Culprit: Kaiji Kudo

Scenario #79

Main character: Akane Ogata

Secondary main character: Yukio Ohmoto

Survivors: Akane Ogata, Mika Yamaguchi, Saburou Hikasa, Ian Curtis/Masamune Toyotomi, Yukio Ohmoto

Mastermind: Mishio Matsukaze

Case #1

Victim: Hoshio Saitou

Culprit: Aya Sawashiro

Case #2:

Victim: Mishio Matsukaze

Culprit: Masaru Miyata

Case #3:

Victim: Masashi Sakurai

Culprit: Ginchiyo

Case #4:

Victim: Reiji Ohmoto

Culprit: Chihiro Toriumi

Case #5:

Victim: Tomoe Chiba

Culprit: Takeshi Toyogushi

Pretty different, eh? I think the change that affected plot the most was Toyotomi's death as a culprit. You may imagine how much that'd affect investigations. In fact, although most of the snippets are pretty incomplete and my memory is hazy, Toyotomi's life or death status was practically was turned around the plot in terms of how her influences the survivors' fifth and sixth trials.

So, allow me to share my thoughts on each chapter of my story.

** Prologue: (Say Hello, Everybody) **

Do you know how hard it was to write the prologue? It was literally the first impressions the readers would have of the characters, and I wanted them to make a good impression without revealing too much. And to this day I'm still not sure if I did it right, hahahahaha

Besides, doing the first time conversations is also pretty difficult. I mean, how to make a section like that interesting? I suppose one's expectation, as a reader, to meet the characters who would form the story is what makes it worth it. Still, despite everything, it was...nice to see my characters start their life in my story. It was that moment when I knew I had created ones from a sea of zeros, I had managed to bring them from my mind onto the paper. Or Word document. Whatever works.

** First Chapter (What Did I Get Into, Damn It) **

Oh man, my least favorite chapter.

I think this was pretty flawed. Nothing I had planned to differentiate my story from other Fangan Ronpas had made its appearance yet, besides the fact these were graduates and not students, so I had to go and make it pretty orthodox and frankly, I think it is very average. Nothing special.

At least it worked for me to get used to the characters' voices and feelings. It was a rough moment, as I was blank at times, trying to think of stuff they'd really say. I think that there were a few moments that didn't fit the characterizations very well, but it was the start of the story. I was confident that, with time, I'd get better.

And I think I did get better, but the damage was done. I'm sure that a lot of readers, once they got to the end of the first trial, decided they had enough of my story.

I'm not sure how the second story will go; in terms of if the first chapter will have the same problems than in Graduate Meeting. We'll see when we get there.

** Second Chapter (Diavolos Avante Ahoy) **

Loooooook, there's ploooooot!

I'd say in this chapter was when my writing started to flow better. I did find easier to write, and I think it's because I was finally getting into the main plot points in my story, by example, Diavolos Avante and Volkos. Those parts were something I had hoping to write soon, and what was I had planned the most.

Also it was a blast to plan the murder, or as you know by now, the not-murder. When I was planning it I knew it'd be a big part of the final trial, but I couldn't make it obvious. I had aimed towards creating a case that was plausible yet felt strange, like something was off, even after it was revealed how it had happened.

One of my reviewers, Craftsdwarf, had noticed a few things, such as the signal interceptor's malign properties, and understandably he expressed some annoyance over it. It was something that came totally out of the blue! Details like that were what I had the most trouble with, and what I had used in order to achieve what I wanted. I'd say I was successful with that.

You know something I regret? Not giving Diavolos Avante a bit more of screen time before Chapter 6, and even then, the Main Board are pretty much minor characters. After all, Diavolos Avante were relegated to the end of those chapters, so their presence was minor.

** Third Chapter (The Chapter Where Reiji Was an Asshole) **

I said the second chapter was when the writing started to flow better, but in my opinion, this is the chapter where the story truly started and was something I was truly satisfied of.

It was a complicated murder scheme, too, and I was afraid it would be too farfetched. At least it didn't go bad.

This was also the chapter where I, for the first time, received some really praising reviews. I had grown used to simply post and let people read, and I was satisfied with merely seeing the number of views grow, so reviews hadn't been an important part so far. However after the plot twist about Reiji winning the trial was revealed, I received four reviews, two in this site and two in the other. It was unexpected, to say the least! I had never thought it'd be so well received it'd warrant reviews.

That kinda added some pressure on me, as I now had to finish the trial with the same level of quality the plot twist had, or better. Apparently I did do it correctly, eh.

Also Diavolos Avante continue being a non-entity, being away and still sitting around waiting for anything to happen. Your cue will come later, guys, please be patient, that's what I kept telling myself.

** Fourth Chapter (The Attack of Akane's Hallucinations)  **

Oooooh, fourth chapter. The introduction of the dead people coming back to life in Akane's mind. I'd say that was my weakest subplot, and it's rather possible I went too far with it in Chapter 4. I received one comment through email that said it was strange she could replicate them mentally despite knowing them for so little time, mostly a few days. I couldn't say it just after I received it, because the reader hadn't finished reading the story yet, so I can say it now:

I had intended it to be a little and easily missed piece of foreshadowing: it indeed is hard for that to happen. Then what if she had known them for more time than what the story had shown so far?

Leaving that aside, this was a murder kinda hard to pull...making everybody be in a concrete place in a short span of time. I think I did rely too much on coincidences on this one. And those in Fanfiction couldn't have known about the hair chopsticks, as it was something shown in the character illustration. And even then, they didn't look like they were hard and pointy enough to piece somebody's neck either, so it could be said this was unexpected in terms of being poorly presented.

Also Reiji died, hah. Do you know something? Scenario #80, the one directly after that, had Yukio dying instead of Reiji. Scenario #80 was the one I almost chose, but I went with #79 because I had grown to like Yukio more than Reiji, and I wanted the Assistant to survive.

** Fifth Chapter (Are We Starving Yet?) **

We're, going to starve, we're going to starve, we're going to starve. That's something I had said several times during the story, and it was just in this chapter where it was finally a real threat. And...well, I think it wasn't that big in the overall scheme of the story. Despite, you know, it being on the story summary and all. Huh.

It was surprisingly difficult to try to frame Kudo, you know. I mean, you know how in so many stories, one thinks that if there are so many clues pointing towards somebody, that person is innocent? That's what I feared here. I wanted to leave enough evidence that could point towards Kudo being guilty, but not too many for readers to think he was innocent. Although in Chapter 3 I had done that with Reiji and I did make him guilty, so I hoped that'd make people think twice about Kudo's innocence.

Also Chiba died, my dear Chiba. Poor woman. And Toyogushi died too. They were well-received characters, so I was feeling somewhat anxious about killing them both in the same case. It didn't go so well, eh? I mean, Toyogushi's death came because somebody had to die! Sure, the reasoning I had when I was writing it was that Matsukaze wouldn't mind killing somebody for flimsy reasons, but I wasn't entirely convinced myself.

** Sixth Chapter (Loads and Loads of Evidence) **

This chapter had almost as double the number of evidence than Chapter 4, the one with the most evidence until this one. It's fun to juggle so many things, but not so fun when you feel you're leaving one or more out of the big spiderweb that is the logic behind the story.

Finally Veritas did something else besides sitting around and grumbling about Volkos! Which was nice to finally write, I had been waiting for that. Sure, Valkyrie, Vieiras and Wolfenmaus were still minor until the end, but I do plan for them to be more meaningful to the plot in Diabolical Contest.

It was...amazing to tie every plot thread. For moments like that is that I'm a writer, a mystery and crime writer. There's something very satisfying in seeing everything you have written until now get together and create a train of logic that makes sense. I'd say this, and the third trial, were my best.

Also, revealing Matsukaze as the Mastermind was something I greatly enjoyed. I had hammered so much the stuff about Volkos that I hoped readers wouldn't notice that it all relied on something: Matsukaze's investigations. If they crumbled, then everything about Volkos crumbled.

** Epilogue (The Sequel Hook) **

Well, this chapter was mostly to set up the motions for Diabolical Contest. There isn't much to say on that regard, besides Akane and the rest joining the Future Foundation. They'll be back at some point, that much is sure.

So now that the chapters have been mentioned, let's go for the characters, okay? Also, the number you see is the number of times it has happened in the scenarios I had scribbled.

** Akane Ogata **

Main character: 25

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 25

Victim: 55

Culprit: 20

Akane was the character with the most times as the Main Character.

It was kind of hard to choose what talent the protagonist should have. I didn't it want to be too helpful in regards to investigations; I preferred it to be something unrelated. However I didn't want the main character to be completely helpless! So a profession that involved analyzing and using your brain was fitting, in my opinion. After considering several options, I decided that Akane the Chemist would be the best one. That doesn't mean I didn't consider other options, though!

However it's kinda curious. The only times I had her surviving were the times when she was the main character, and as you can see, she was more times the victim than the culprit.

It was kinda hard to try to write a main character that wasn't flat and uninteresting, and I don't think I was quite successful on turning her into a real character. However I am satisfied on her roles in the trials, I think I did a relatively good job stringing her thoughts in the trials and gave her appropriate reactions in certain moments.

As some of you may have noticed, the characters have the voice actors' family names. Akane received 'Ogata', for her main character status. 'Akane' means deep red, which I gave her because of her red eyes, not much other than that. I'm fond of red eyes, you see. Sure, they're often linked with threatening characters, but they don't have to be like that all the time, right?

** Yukio Ohmoto **

Main character: 17

Secondary main character 95

As Mastermind: 16

Survives: 29

Victim: 25

Culprit: 29

Yukio was the character who was the deuteragonist the most times. Is Deuteragonist a word? Secondary main character, let's leave it at that. He was known as the SHSL Law Assistant, after all! That wasn't a coincidence.

Yukio was one of the three most popular characters, judging from the messages I have received publicly and privately. I was happy to hear that, and overall, I think I was more successful in making Yukio an appealing main character. I wish Akane had been more memorable, though.

I'd say Yukio is the one graduate who caused Graduate Meeting to happen. He was the only graduate whose free times were completed in the story, and the only reason for that is because of the eventual reveal in Reiji's journal about the events in Hope's Peak's Council, which in turn was what led Reiji to be SHSL Despair. It was also him, and Reiji, who won the Delacroix case and made Matsukaze be rejected from Hope's Peak, which led several years later to seek revenge, although Diavolos Avante's Main Board had a hand on pushing him to do it.

It was fun to write him, I enjoyed it. Originally, I had planned to make him meeker, in contrast to Reiji's confident behavior, with both behaviors being facades to continue pretending their supposed talents were real instead of swapped, but Yukio's trait disappeared quickly. One could say he put it aside because hello, they were trapped in a shelter, who cared about appearances, but I didn't think of that until much later, and it was too late to backtrack. It had disappeared way too quickly to explain.

As you can see, he was the Mastermind in several scenarios. In them, it was similar to Matsukaze's Mastermind scenarios, just that instead of winning the Delacroix case, they lost it. However Matsukaze and Reiji got called to Hope's Peak, while Yukio was left aside. However I decided to not to use them because I couldn't think of a good explanation for Reiji to be chosen and Yukio to be left behind.

Yukio received 'Ohmoto' thanks to his status as the sidekick. I know Maizono, the character whom Makiko Ohmoto gave her voice to, wasn't really Naegi's assistant, but the point still stands. 'Yukio' has several meanings. There were two reasons I chose it. One, with him as the Mastermind, as it can mean "he who gets what he wants". You know, that being the base for his role as Mastermind, because he couldn't get it. That fits Matsukaze, but I chose not to give it to him because I read somewhere that it can also mean something along the lines of "he who had to wade through a lot of snow", paraphrasing. It's metaphorical, all that metaphorical snow that filled his life after Hope's Peak. Snow as in obstacles. Yeah, sorry for explaining.

** Ian Curtis/Masamune Toyotomi **

Main character: 0

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 65

Victim: 26

Culprit: 9

Masamune Toyotomi, hah. The Artist who was an artist but not the kind of artist they thought he was.

I have the nagging feeling that he was pretty much the least important graduate, with the least screentime, during the first half of the story, except in his small time as one of Akane's defenders in the first case. However when the fourth chapter started and I was getting ready to reveal who he really was, I got him more into the story. And maybe there being less graduates to keep track of helped too.

He was pretty much the first character I created when the story was first born, when I was planning the reasons behind the graduates' presence in the shelter. At first I hadn't planned for him to use an alias, but later I thought that it could add some intrigue if Toyotomi, the person who had called them to the shelter, wasn't present. So that's how the identity 'Ian Curtis' was created. I also gave him a strange color scheme because hey, he's a Prosthetic Makeup Artist, not somebody expert on being unnoticed around. Pink hair, cyan beanie, and a skin tone that made those stand out? Not exactly somebody who stays in the background. I had intended that appearance to be very artificial, while his authentic hair and skin tone represented the real him.

I'm pretty fond of Toyotomi, and the moment of his reveal was something I liked to write. He survived so many times because he was the one to induct the survivors into the Future Foundation, which in turn leads to the events in the third story. I thought he, as the one who called them to the shelter, was better for the induction, instead of Chiba or Kudo.

'Ian' was the name chosen, as a way to say 'I am Curtis'. 'Curtis' is a friend's surname, nothing big about it. 'Masamune Toyotomi' is an amalgamation of two Japanese daimyos, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Masamune Date. I gave him those for his essential role as a Future Foundation member.

** Saburou Hikasa **

Main character: 14

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 25

Victim: 46

Culprit: 29

Another graduate I had considered for main character, but it never worked very well.

He was basically the token strong character, in the body sense, and...I think it never went too far from that. I'd say he overall was the least developed character in the story; even Saitou was more developed and planned than him.

The truth is that I don't even have much to say about him. His most outstanding role was as Ginchiyo's pairing, which was supposed to lead to some drama in the third trial, however they had known each other for a short amount of time, I didn't think a full blown tantrum and despair would have been logical there.

'Saburo' is a name given to third sons, which was something part of his backstory that was scrapped, which involved him straining himself to be strong in order to fight back abusive older brothers. That would have been interesting, eh? I'm not sure why I didn't use that. 'Hikasa' was more of a process of elimination. At the beginning he was going to be 'Saburou Matsukaze', and the other was 'Mishio Hikasa', but I swapped the family names for reasons explained in Mishio's section.

** Mika Yamaguchi **

Main character: 11

Secondary main character 3

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 32

Victim: 57

Culprit: 11

Yamaguchi, Enoshima's work partner in fashion. That had potential, didn't it? I think that if she had stayed as the main character I could have milked it for what it was worth, you know, somebody close to Enoshima fighting as the heroine of a mutual killing game...but at the end I went with Akane as main character, so Yamaguchi's relation with Enoshima was a minor thing in the story.

Originally she was also going to be one of the main red herrings for Mastermind, using that relation as the base for that, which was also a reason for her to die often. However I decided to throw her a bone and make the graduates not ostracize her or kill her, instead turning this into Yamaguchi being paranoid she would be hated for being Enoshima's work partner in the past.

'Mika' means 'beautiful fragrance', which is a feminine name meaning, fitting for somebody feminine as Yamaguchi. Sure, in the story it wasn't like her femininity was flaunted around, but that was the main reason behind the name. 'Yamaguchi' was for Hifumi Yamada, and was assigned it as some sort of parallel for her relation with Enoshima, as the one who was under the manipulator's will.

** Hoshio Saitou **

Main character: 0

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 22

Victim: 51

Culprit: 27

First victim in the real scenario, and more than half of the times he was the victim in the rejected ones was because he had attacked somebody else.

You know, I was mortified when somebody made me notice I had inadvertently enforced the 'black guy dies first' trope. I should have realized before, but eh...should I really feel guilty? I don't know, to be honest...this is a complicated thing. To make it worse, most times he died in Chapter 1, whether it was as the culprit or the victim.

I think that all his characterization practically came from his free times, as it gave the reasons behind his personality. Without the free times, I think he comes as pretty unlikable. That isn't a sign of good writing, I'd say...

'Hoshi' means star, and he's the star of his family and in the world of salesmen. After all, he got pretty far in both worlds, and at such a tender age! Sure, you could say that for everybody else as well, but I think that was defines him as successful was that he had achieved what he wanted, and that's why I assigned 'Hoshi' to him and not to anybody else. 'Saito' was for Asahina. Originally he was going to be more similar to Asahina in personality, but I scrapped that, hah.

** Aya Sawashiro **

Main character: 9

Secondary main character 2

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 18

Victim: 59

Culprit: 23

Sawashiro was the sidekick in the first scenario, and she was supposed to use her medium powers in the trials to help.

However there were several problems with her power...especially if she was going to survive, after all, would it be believable that five different people to not to know who killed them, or be misled about it? And if she didn't use her powers at all, it's very likely people would be wondering why the hell she wasn't doing it; she had medium powers, why doesn't she call the victims. That's how she ended as the first culprit, and several times, as the first victim. More often than not, the first Chapter involved Sawashiro killing Saitou or viceversa.

It's a shame, because I liked Sawashiro. Oh well.

'Aya' means color, but that wasn't why it was given to her. She was given it for Aya-Gozen, half-sister to Kenshin Uesugi. You see, originally, Sawashiro was going to have more Buddhist influences, and Aya-Gozen was linked to Buddhism. 'Sawashiro' is for Fukawa, in terms of originally being more or less inspiration for the character in a sense, at least physically. She was going to look more like her, but the design strayed from that.

** Mishio Matsukaze **

Main character: 0

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 24

Survives: 48

Victim: 28

Culprit: 0

Matsukaze is the only character to not to have killed anybody...with his own hands.

Here it is, dear Mastermind, the brightest investigative mind of the century. Originally I hadn't planned him to be the villain, but after a few scenarios with Kudo as the Mastermind I got this idea, and it appealed to me more! Interestingly, every time he was a victim he was killed by Kudo or by somebody Kudo manipulated.

It may be bad to have a Detective in a story like this and it not being the main character, especially a super detective like SHSL ones, but it works when done right...I think Kirigiri had worked well, and I strived to do the same with Matsukaze. However, the only investigation written was the one in Chapter 1, so all in all, it was something nobody will see.

Yeah, I had planned him to be some sort of distant expy to Kirigiri, to the point where he also had a nice lavender tone as his hair, and a relatively stoic demeanor as well. It seemed fitting, in my opinion, since it went well with Kudo's character.

'Mishio' means 'man with the strength of three thousands', which I had turned into 'man with the mind of tree thousands', because investigative mind of the century. 'Matsukaze' wasn't the original family name. It was Hikasa, fitting for the Kirigiri expy, but when I started planning seriously for this character to be the Mastermind, I changed it to Matsukaze for Hagakure. Mainly because it amused me. Hagakure was pretty much the one Mastermind option in the game that nobody considered seriously; apparently fans and players thought he was too much of an idiot to be it. So, the Mastermind is the one with the family name related to Hagakure.

I'm so pleased with myself, hah

** Masaru Miyata **

Main character: 0

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 52

Victim: 41

Culprit: 7

Oh, this prick.

I'm a generally amicable person, so it's somewhat hard for me to write characters like Miyata. However this is the type of person who is mostly all bark and no bite, and his culprit tally shows it.

When he survived he was supposed to have one of those epiphanies that show that if he didn't cooperate, he'd die, but that's cliché, eh? Didn't stop me from planning it many times. But I decided to make him some sort of pawn for Matsukaze/Yukio, being invited to the shelter to attract Diavolos Avante's wrath when this kid died.

It's unrealistic for a thirteen year old to have a successful and legitimate company AND be invited to Hope's Peak, I suppose. However I had a reason for that and it was mainly a way for him to be as socially awkward as possible. Being younger than his peers in Hope's Peak would have led him to be seen as different, which in turn would have led to his problems with people. But I didn't mention it, I think.

'Masaru' goes for 'victory'. Victory, you succeeded at an early age, kid! That's exactly why I gave him that name. 'Miyata' was for Fujisaki, in the sense that they were both the smallest and weakest of the group. And when compared to adults, the youngest of them being around 24 years old, a teenager such as Miyata would definitely be considered the weakest.

** Masashi Sakurai **

Main character: 0

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 69

Victim: 18

Culprit: 13

This is the character who survived the most times.

The reason for that was obvious: luck. I had planned at first to play straight his luck, as in being overall lucky, but after a while I thought it was unoriginal, so I focused on other ways to be lucky. I settled on being lucky when learning, avoiding accidents and noticing faults far easier than anybody else. That's a kinda farfetched type of luck, but I think it's better than mere good luck.

Hum. Not much to say.

Masashi means 'righteous aspiration', and this guy had a lot of aspirations, which is why he was seeking to learn all those talents. Being a jack of all trades is really a big aspiration, right? Sakurai goes for Kuwata, an easygoing person who wanted to be recognized for something else than his talent. Or something like that.

** Ginchiyo/Madoka Nakai **

Main character: 17

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 21

Victim: 64

Culprit: 15

Ginchiyo, the student who bought the 'best student ever' title inadvertently. It may be somewhat strange, but for a moment I considered making her sister Shizuka the Mastermind. However I considered it'd be bad.

I think I went a bit overboard with her guilt about Shizuka. It has been years since the whole thing happened, would a thirty-something adult be crying like a child when her sister's name was uttered? I chalked it up to trauma, but that doesn't hold any water.

Other than that, I had considered putting her as the main character as a way to develop her out of that guilt through hardships such as the mutual killing game. However it didn't work very well.

Ginchiyo goes for Ginchiyo Tachibana, a strong woman who led her family clan until her marriage. However that strong name hid Madoka, somebody who was going in circles inside her guilt, with no way out. That's what 'Madoka' means, round. Nakai goes for Oowada, a seemingly strong person who hid their internal weakness.

** Reiji Ohmoto **

Main character: 0

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 3

Victim: 93

Culprit: 4

Reiji was the most common victim, and how wouldn't he be. He was SHSL Despair. That was the main reason behind most of those deaths; some graduate got paranoid and killed him.

As somebody with a strong relationship with my own brother, it was hard to write about Yukio and Reiji's relationship and how it fell. That's because I always have a fear that I'll become my brother's enemy. Hopefully that won't ever happen.

Curiously enough, despite being SHSL Despair, he only killed in four scenarios, including #79, but as you can see, he was the main force behind four of the five murders. I think that was the correct way to write his influence, him leading people to kill without getting his hands dirty. SHSL Despair doesn't mean being mindless, after all. It's pushing people to despair and enjoying the consequences of that.

Reiji means 'orders, govern', which was for his title as supposed Law Master. Ohmoto wasn't for any reason, it was merely because it was Yukio's family name and they were brothers.

** Chihiro Toriumi **

Main character: 0

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 33

Survives: 20

Victim: 44

Culprit: 3

Yes, Toriumi was the one with the most scenarios as the Mastermind.

I had planned some sort of natural selection thing, where only the strong ones survived. If nobody was strong, then they all died, and that was going to be Toriumi's role as the Mastermind, to oversee it. The Tutor was weeding out the bad students and making the best continue ahead in life.

However I ended favouring more Matsukaze's scenarios because they fit better the overall story of the trilogy, but sometimes I wonder how Toriumi as the Mastermind would have been received.

It was much easier to write Toriumi than Miyata or Reiji, and it's because she isn't that bad of a person. Sure, she's ruthless and cold, but she can also be protective and caring about her friends. That diminished the difficulty of doing it.

Chihiro was given to her because it's the Japanese mind of Ace Attorney character Mia Fey, another mentor character. However, personality wise, they have nothing alike, hah. 'Toriumi' is for Ishimaru, characters involved in school activities. Ishimaru for Hall Monitor, Toriumi for tutoring.

** Tomoe Chiba **

Main character: 7

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 0

Survives: 60

Victim: 39

Culprit: 1

Chiba, my favorite character. Also only killed once, and that was herself.

It was hard to write her death, because as I said, she's my favorite character. At least I wanted her to leave in a memorable way, and a suicide out of despair and being misled to think she was part of a Mastermind duo fit the bill.

Originally she didn't have an execution planned, but a while after I started writing I suddenly got an idea for that, and despite there being no chance of ever using it, I wrote it down, because I thought it was good.

In the sixty scenarios she survived, she, sometimes alone, sometimes with Toyotomi, she was the one to lead the survivors into the Future Foundation, but I relegated that role to Toyotomi, meaning I canned all scenarios where she was the main character or she survived. This narrowed down sixty scenarios in one go, only leaving forty to choose from. It's strange how a simple detail like that could influence so much.

Tomoe can mean 'friend' and 'blessed', which I think fits her well. Chiba is one of the two family names who aren't related to any voice actor...it was merely a name I liked.

** Takeshi Toyogushi **

Main character: 0

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind:

Survives: 1

Victim: 53

Culprit: 46

Toyogushi is the character who survived the least time. I feel bad for his son. Surprisingly, he was one of the three most popular characters in the story.

I had originally intended him to have narcolepsy, something somewhat inconvenient for a stuntsman, but I toned it down to merely getting drowsy from inactivity.

As the oldest graduate, he was supposed to be level-headed and calm in most situations, which I achieved well, I'd say. However I'm not sure if I made good reactions and characterization in the fifth trial...the parallel between his wife's death and Chiba's death was going to be the main point there, did I do that right, I wonder...

'Takeshi' means fierce warrior, which...heheh, doesn't fit very well in his actual characterization. Another trait he had was that he was the type of father who would do anything to get out of the shelter in order to see his son, and that's why he was the culprit so many times, but that was scrapped. 'Toyogushi' is for Enoshima's voice actor, it was simply misspelt on purpose. After all, Toyogushi was going to be another red herring for Mastermind.

** Kaiji Kudo **

Main character: 0

Secondary main character 0

As Mastermind: 27

Survives: 16

Victim: 2

Culprit: 55

Kudo was the one who was the culprit the most times. So much for being a Philanthropist, and there isn't even the excuse of him being part of Diavolos Avante. Sure, some of those culprit scenarios were from his Mastermind scenarios, like the time he killed Matsukaze and Akane in the same chapter, but in others he didn't have a valid reason to kill, mainly because those scenarios were scrapped early.

His Mastermind scenarios were pretty simple, Volkos really was the villain. However...I got tempted more to not to give that straight, to make Volkos look like a villain but actually make him a relatively good person. That's why I went for a Matsukaze scenario.

He was physically supposed to be a Naegi expy, but damn I can't illustrate, hahahahaha

Kaiji doesn't exist as a name, but 'Keiji' does, which is where I got this one. Keiji means 'govern with discretion', but I distorted it thanks to his Mastermind scenarios, as he did govern, but doing mutual killing games doesn't really qualify as discreet, right? Kudo was for Taiki Kudo, character from some show in the Digimon franchise, whom if I remember right, had some sort of hero syndrome and was very focused on friendship and helping. Or something like that. I didn't research much, and it has been long since I watched that show.

** Diavolos Avante: Veritas, Valkyrie, Vieiras, Wolfenmaus **

Oh yeah, this faction. Frankly, they weren't very involved in Graduate Meeting. Veritas did have some hand into the plot and in the final trial, but the others were very minor. However, in the next story, the Main Board, as well as Diavolos Avante overall, will have a lot more of importance in the next story. Here is a summary for it

** Diabolical Contest of Mutual Killing: Summary **

When a Main Board member dies, it must be replaced as soon as possible. Everybody knew that. That's why Mitsuhiko Hikari, Hunting Demon and Kyoto Team Leader of Diavolos Avante, wasn't surprised when he received a letter stating he was being considered as the replacement, and needed to be in the Headquarters to be in a contest to define the one to be chosen.

What he didn't expect was that when he arrived he'd be thrown into a whirlwind of activity and strange happenings. It all started when that little girl appeared, then the monochrome bear made everything worse, and finally the murders started. Is all that really to choose the new Main Board member? Or was there somebody, or a whole team of them, conspiring to kill Diavolos Avante and its members? And who among the sixteen people in the headquarters is cooperating for that to happen?

** Diabolical Contest of Mutual Killing: Characters **

Basically, all characters are high ranking members from Diavolos Avante from different teams spread through Japan, as Kudo, the representative for Asia in the Main Board, died, it's only logical for a Japanese person to replace him. Here are them, with their very tacky titles. Veritas has no taste in titles, hah. Basically, as most members of Diavolos Avante were members of Veritas' school, he gave them a title based on the talent that got them into the school in the first place.

Mitsuhiko Hikari: Hunting Demon

Mamoru Takayama: Protective Demon

Akira Hosoya: Con Artist Demon

Kimiko Sugita: Tea Demon

Harumi Kayano: Dancing Demon

Tetsurou Koshimizu: Medical Demon

Chiyo Yasumoto: Mind Demon

Sumida Kishio: Linguist Demon

Kouhei Kobayashi: Magical Demon

Daisuke Mitsuishi: Flying Demon

Kumakichi Fukuyama: Acting Demon

Hiyoko Romi: Lyricist Demon

Kyrie Mimori: Journalism Demon

Yurie Oyama: Hacker Demon

Tohya Sasuga: Robotic Demon

Emiko Tanaka: Unwanted Demon

And so here it ends. With this chapter, Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing is officially over. Once again, thank you all of you for reading. I'm not sure when Diabolical Contest is going to start, but I suppose it'll be around February.

See you all whenever it's time!

EDIT: The sequel is in progress now!


End file.
